Forbidden Dreams
by SachiNyoko
Summary: HPxSM Usagi Serenity Malfoy, twin sister of Draco Malfoy, has a lot on her plate. She unwillingly begins a friendship with Harry Potter, gets tangled up with some nasty Slytherins, and tries to keep her brother from making the biggest mistake of his life
1. Encounter

"Hey, who's that?" As he asked the question, the red haired boy felt the angry eyes of his female companion boring into him. Chuckling nervously, he focused his attentions on his best friend Harry as he waited for an answer. The green eyed teen looked up from his essay, glancing at the girl Ron's finger pointed towards.

"Ron, stop avoiding your potions assignment." The brown haired girl next to him bit off, sounding quite agitated. Apparently, this wasn't the first distraction that Ron had come up with since the trio sat down to complete this long, tedious essay.

"Who says I'm avoiding it? I just wanted to know who that girl is, Hermione," the redhead whined, causing a small twitch in said girl's left eye. She surrendered, looking over at the girl in question briefly. Her honey brown eyes rolled towards the ceiling before focusing on her parchment once more.

"She's in seventh year, Ron, _our_ year. I don't see how you haven't seen her before." Almost instantly regretting saying anything, Hermione gritted her teeth as Ron gave an overly animated expression of shock. Harry fought off his amusement, not keen on directing the brunette's anger toward himself.

"You're kidding! She can't be seventeen. Besides, in seven years I think we'd have noticed her by now," the Weasley argued. Hermione gripped the quill in her hand, looking about ready to dive over the table at Ron.

"Ronald Weasley, if you don't shut up I'm going to stab you with my quill." Harry snorted with laughter, quickly covering it with a cough. He looked away quickly, ignoring the escalating argument between his two best friends. Not particularly dull, he could see the underlying feelings behind both their actions. The two of them were closer now than ever, and he was drifting farther away.

Harry looked over at the girl that Ron had picked for his distraction, and caught the melancholy stare of the blonde stranger. Her blue eyes flickered down to her book instantly, like the flicker of a light that you barely notice, and pretended to be completely immersed in her book. Obviously she'd listened to their not so quiet exchange moments before, the emotion in her eyes still lingered.

The seventh-year Gryffindor shut his potions book, decidedly done with the essay. He gathered all his things back in his school bag, and stood to retreat to his dormitory for the night. Then on a whim, he stopped, and slowly walked over to the girl on the couch.

Her pale, golden hair shimmered when she tilted her head upwards to glance at him, and if he wasn't mistaken, something of panic shot through her features. Almost like she was afraid of him. Hesitantly, Harry took a seat beside her, not too close, and initiated conversation.

"Hello," He bit out lamely. The only answer she offered was a short nod, closing her book politely and settling it in her lap. "What are you reading?"

The expression of anxiety returned; she shoved the book into his lap and fled from the couch like a speeding gazelle. He barely caught sight of her robe disappearing up the stairs to the girls' dormitory. Slightly bewildered, he looked down at the book in his hands.

'_Legends of the Moon,_' winked up at him in metallic silver letters, pronounced by the leather cover as the backdrop. Following his subconscious, he opened the stiff binding to the very top page and read, '_Property of Usagi Serenity Malfoy._' The book slipped clean from his hands.

"That's how she acts with everyone, Harry. Never talks to anybody, even when I tried to be her friend. She acts sort of skittish, don't you think?" Hermione and Ron joined him on the three-seat couch, apparently over their argument. The bushy-haired girl looked concerned as she picked up the dropped book.

"Yeah, well, I'm going to bed. G'night guys," Harry grabbed the book from Hermione's hands and tucked it with his stuff before parting, his mind reeling with the information. He failed to notice the look his two friends shared as he also disappeared up the set of spiral steps.

'_There's no way...Malfoy? All Malfoys are in Slytherin, it's like an unwritten law. No Malfoy would ever be in Gryffindor._' Harry paused in his thoughts to change into his pajamas. Climbing into his four-poster, he pulled the curtains shut and fell back into his pillow, pensive. '_I guess she does sort of look like them, but prettier._'

Snorting, the raven-haired youth rolled onto his side and mentally kicked himself. The girl apparently was a Malfoy, and he hated the whole lot of them. Considering the circumstances she probably hated him too. Still, something rang odd about the whole situation.

"Eh, forget about it, Harry..." He muttered before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the girl's dormitory, the petite figure was curled up on the window sill, her eyes glued somewhere beyond the glass. Usagi's eyes slowly focused on her reflection in the darkness, tracing her pale cheek with a single fingernail. Everything about her features whispered Malfoy, practically bellowed Narcissa. So much like her mother. 

'_But uglier,_' she decided, a frown twitching at her lips. The blonde changed into her night gown, a simple white that trailed to her knees. Worrying over her book for a brief moment, she sank into her bed and lay there, baiting sleep long into the night.

* * *

Well...I like revising things, especially beginning chapters. Usagi has a role in this one. Har. Lovely, lovely Forbidden Dreams has much more revision in store. And I'm nearing the end of the new chapter. Joy. :D 

♥SachiNyoko♥


	2. Lunarian Magic

Next morning's breakfast found a distracted Harry Potter, his mind still unable to leave the thoughts of a certain girl and her book. His mind kept pumping out reasons as to why she would have it in her possession, aside from the fact that it might actually belong to her. For instance, maybe she found it, or borrowed it from a library the Malfoys donated to.

Though he doubted they would donate to anything charitable without the prospect for personal gain, the messy haired teen wasn't ruling anything out at the moment. Perhaps, by a slim chance, their names were simply a coincidence. Surely the name Malfoy didn't belong solely to the slick haired kings of Slytherin. Converging in all things despicably evil and wrong.

"The food's there for eating, Harry," Ron said, breaking his train of thought. The redhead stared pointedly at his full plate, which he'd barely touched. Meanwhile, his own mouth was full of food, and Hermione took the opportunity to point out his lack of manners. Harry rolled his eyes as the two began another _lover's spat_.

"Say Harry, are you taking the new course this year?" Hermione asked, bringing him back to reality. The raven haired boy had fallen into the habit of automatically spacing out when the two got in a row, for sanity purposes of course.

"Yeah. As of this year it's on the list of classes you need to go into Auror training," he responded, earning a skeptical look from Ron.

"Lunarian Magic? Nobody has studied that in any school for years. Why would they suddenly require it?" The Weasley wondered aloud, getting a shrug from Harry in response. The female member of their group, however, had a theory.

"Maybe someone discovered it's quite useful, especially with the Death Eaters roaming everywhere throwing their Dark magic around," Hermione offered, lowering her voice as she spoke. She drew up to full height again and added enthusiastically, "I really wanted to take that class but my schedule was way too full. Could you tell me about it later, Harry?"

"Sure, 'Mione," Harry said, but his attention left the conversation a few moments before when he caught sight of his enigma entering the Great Hall. His green eyes followed her as she sat near the end of the table, several spaces away from the nearest student, and scooped a few scrambled eggs onto her plate. Disinterestedly, she pushed them around her plate as she studied people one table over, at the Slytherin table.

Harry followed her steady gaze to the rival house's table, and quickly located Draco Malfoy, his personal arch enemy. The more he glanced between the two, the more he realized, to his despair, they looked a lot alike. As inevitably so when staring at someone, Harry found himself caught in the act, making eye contact with Usagi Serenity Malfoy. His cheeks warmed as he turned away, but before any further reactions could take place, Ron dragged him from the Great Hall with Hermione and himself, heading for first classes.

For Harry, Lunarian Magic was his first class of his seventh year in Hogwarts, and coincidently the first stop on the trio's way. The raven haired boy readjusted his bag, half heartedly listening to Hermione at his side, "Pay attention so you can tell me about it later, okay? Take good notes, too, I want to read over them. See you Harry!"

Waving goodbye, he entered the classroom and took a look around. Only five or six students had arrived thus far, and he only recognized one. The blonde girl he'd been pondering all morning occupied a seat in the back corner, too his utter surprise. She must have passed him in the hall at some point, how had he not noticed? Shaking his head, he chalked it up to his dazed demeanor. After all, he'd agreed to feed Hermione's unhealthy obsession with learning as well, which he found himself instantly regretting.

Harry moved towards the back, falling into the seat beside Usagi, whose eyes were glued to the blackboard at the front of the room. Absently, he noted the other students in the room had taken seats on the opposite side of the room, and he was the only person sitting near the spaced out girl. For a moment he though he detected their eyes on him, but when he turned his head they were still conversing animatedly amongst themselves and ignoring the both of them.

Taking a deep breathe, he turned towards the girl and said, "Um, excuse me?"

She jumped, literally, off her seat, and banged her knee against the desk she'd been sitting at. Their was a brief lapse in conversation on the other side of the room, but it picked up just as quickly when the girl turned her wide blue eyes toward Harry. When she realized who he was, her eyes jumped quickly down to the top of her desk, and she didn't move them from that spot.

"Um, is your name Usagi?" She lifted her eyes, but only to watch the group of students that entered the classroom. Without even looking in her direction, they took seats as far away from her as possible, still chatting away about some wizarding band. Harry suddenly wondered if things had been like this for her all seven years she'd been at Hogwarts.

He'd had brief spouts of being disliked by the whole school, such as his second year when everyone thought he was the heir of Slytherin, or his fourth year when they thought he cheated his way into the Triwizard Tournament. He couldn't even imagine being treated like that constantly for seven years. Finally, he turned his thoughts back to the present, only to realize that the blonde hadn't even turned to look at him.

"It was written in that book you handed me last night," Harry offered, trying to catch her attention. Her eyes turned towards him once more, blinking a few times, as if she'd just now seen him there. Brow furrowing, she studied him for a moment like you might observe an animal in a zoo, and then turned back towards the front of the class.

"Silence," Harry realized why she'd turned away that time, as there was now a woman standing in the front of the room. She was leaning her full weight against the podium perched there, and if he didn't know better, he'd say her eyes were positively silver. Though her voice wasn't as strict as McGonagall's, it still commanded a certain level of respect, and the room hushed almost immediately.

"Much better, indeed," her eyes crinkled with amusement, as if she found something funny among the lot of students before her. She swiped her long black hair from her eyes before she continued, and Harry was now positive that they were silver, "Welcome to the very first class of Lunarian Magic. Aren't you all the lucky ones? My name is Idola Desdemona, and I'm your professor for this course. You may call my Professor Desdemona or Professor Des, if you think it's easier.

"Professor Dumbledore agreed to let me teach the lot of you Lunarian Magic, which includes its origins, its benefits, its downfalls, and even how to use it. That being said, can anyone tell me where Lunarian magic first began and what race discovered it?" Her eerie silver eyes passed over the room, and no one raised their hand to offer the answer. Pausing on Harry, she studied him for a moment before she turned to the girl beside him.

"Yes, I believe one of you knows. Miss Malfoy, won't you tell us the answer?" If Harry thought Usagi looked startled earlier, he was certainly wrong. The blonde girl's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as the whole class's attentions shifted to her.

"Well, um," Harry felt terribly sorry for her; her voice was so quiet he was sure only he had heard it, "Lunarian Magic began on the moon, and it was started by the Lunarians, which is why it's called Lunarian Magic."

"Very good, Miss Malfoy, ten points to Gryffindor." Professor Desdemona nodded.

"Anyone could've guessed _that_, it's just common sense." A girl called from the other side of the room, sending the group around her into a fit of laughter. Professor Desdemona turned sharply towards the girl, her eyes narrowing.

"Fifty points from Slytherin, Miss Parkinson, and if you ever insult another student in my presence again I'll double it and give you a nice detention with the caretaker. I hear there's a nasty clogged toilet in one of the boy's bathroom's he's been saving." Harry looked over at Usagi, whose face was quite red as she twiddled with her thumbs in her lap.

"Lunarian Magic is different from the magic you've learned here at Hogwarts. If used correctly, it can be stronger than your Charms, and it's particularly effective against the Dark Arts. To use the stronger spells, however, you have to have Lunarian heritage and a pure heart as well. I'm directly descended from a Lunarian bloodline, so I'm able to use Lunarian Magic to its fullest.

"So, as Miss Malfoy says, Lunarian Magic began on the moon back when there was a stable Kingdom established there. A lot of people today think that the Moon Kingdom is just a bedtime story, and legitimately so because there are so few Lunarian descendants left.

"But it is real, and you'll be learning it here this year. I know, I said only people with Lunarian blood could use it, but the basic spells are learnable with the proper amount of skill and effort. That's why this is an advanced course; and its benefits against the Dark Arts are the reason it's now required for Auror training. But before we start learning spells, let's begin with the history, which is dull, but necessary. Get out your parchment, it's time for notes."

**xXx**

"How was the class, Harry?" Hermione asked over lunch that afternoon. Harry looked up from his lunch, mouth bulging with mashed potatoes. After his no-eating escapade at breakfast, he suddenly found himself very hungry. Of course, the extensive writing also had an effect on his hunger, and he'd taken plenty of notes in Professor Des's class.

"It was okay. The professor seems cool, but we had to take notes the whole class period." He responded after swallowing the potatoes.

"Ooh, can I read your notes?" Hermione asked enthusiastically. Harry nodded numbly. "Great! I've been trying to look up stuff about Lunarians but there isn't much information available. I want to learn more about them, do you think the professor would tutor me or something?"

"Sure, Hermione, why don't you ask her?" Harry answered awkwardly. "I'm going to return this book, see you guys at dinner."

"See ya Harry." Ron waved and shook his head at Hermione simultaneously. Harry grinned and walked to the end of the table, sitting directly across from Usagi and setting the book on the table between them. She shifted her eyes up to the book, and then towards him as she waited for him to say something.

"Your book. So you're interested in the moon?" Harry asked. Usagi reached across the table and slid the book into her lap, nodding once for her answer. "Why don't you ever say anything? I know you can talk, you answered Professor Des's question earlier."

Usagi turned her eyes to his once more, and Harry realized that she had a different expression every time she looked at him. Perhaps his mute sign language idea wasn't as ludicrous as he'd thought? "Okay, so you don't talk. If I ask you yes or no questions will you nod or shake your head?" Usagi blinked at him, and then shrugged.

"Is your name Usagi Malfoy?" She winced, nodded, and shifted her eyes down the table as if someone was watching her.

"Have you been here since first year?" She looked at him again with a fleeting hint of anger before nodding.

"Are you related to Draco Malfoy?" There, he sprung the question on her. Usagi gave him a deer-in-the-headlights look before jumping up from the table with her book in her hands and fleeing from the Great Hall as fast as her legs would carry her.

'_I guess it wasn't just a coincidence then..._' Harry mused as he looked down at her plate, which she hadn't even touched. He waited several minutes before collecting his stuff up and leaving for his next class; double potions.

**xXx**

"Welcome to your 7th and last year of potions. Believe me; I'm just as happy about it as you are." Snape drawled as he shot pointed looks at Harry and Neville. "You know my rules, choose a partner and begin the potion on the blackboard." The class situated themselves with their partner and began to set out ingredients. Harry waved at Ron and Hermione, and then took a seat next to Usagi, who glanced at him from the corner of her eye before setting up the ingredients for the potion silently.

"Will you be my partner?" He questioned. Usagi shrugged nonchalantly and studied the directions on the board. Harry took the hint and began setting up the cauldron. Usagi lost herself in her thoughts as she stirred the ingredients into the potion as if it were a second nature; three times clockwise, fourteen times counter clockwise. Harry measured out the next ingredient and was about to dump it into the cauldron when Usagi grabbed his wrist to stop him. Harry looked at her in surprise.

"That's too much, you'll melt the cauldron. Use a teaspoon, not a tablespoon." She told him quietly. Harry blinked as he realized his mistake, briefly wondered how she caught it when she was daydreaming more than he was, and measured it over again. Draco shot a reproachful glance at Usagi from one table over, but she blissfully ignored him as she continued to stir her potion. At the end of the class, Snape made a point of coming to their table first to inspect their potion.

"Hmm...surprisingly good work Potter. Luckily you were paired with the brightest potion brewer in your class or you might have blown my classroom to pieces." Snape sneered before moving away to survey Ron and Hermione's potion. Harry glared as his back while Usagi bottled their potion and put the ingredients away.

"Stupid git; he's right, though. Thanks for helping me." Harry added as he looked over at his blonde partner. She shook her head and waved her wand at the cauldron, making the rest of the potion evaporate instantly. There was still a good ten minutes left in the class, and Draco moved in moments after Snape had left.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" Harry asked briskly, looking at the blonde boy unpleasantly. He returned the look.

"None of your business, Potter." Draco shot back. He bent down and said something in Usagi's ear. She closed her eyes and nodded. He was gone as quickly as he'd come.

"What was that about?" He inquired. Usagi ignored him and left the classroom silently as the bell rang.

**xXx**

Ding. I didn't edit the last half, just the beginning through Lunarian Magic. I know, I've revised this story like four times. I can't help it.

♥SachiNyoko♥


	3. Arguments Lead to Bad Tempers

Usagi dropped her bag next to her bed and it landed on the hard wood floor with a satisfactory thump. She fell backwards into the mattress of her four-poster bed and let out a long exhale of breath in an attempt to relax her tense muscles. Her head pounded with exhaustion, as it did everyday after classes. Today, however, it seemed magnified, and she credited the added stress to the boy who lived, classmate Harry Potter.

It was bad enough he chose this point of her school life to become obsessed with her, but then he had to go and parade it around her brother? If he only knew how much trouble he was causing, like he was tossing a monkey wrench into the machine that was her day-to-day life. Why now? She'd never had a problem with staying friendless before. Everyone else in the school had gotten the memo that read 'Do not associate with Usagi Serenity Malfoy under any circumstances', so why didn't he get it? She'd gotten used to it over the past six years, even grown to like it, and then mister high and mighty Harry Potter had to come and try to save her from herself.

Drawing in another long breath, she closed her eyes to shut out the dormitory around her and held the oxygen in her lungs until they felt like they would burst. In her mind she was floating under water, in the ocean where no other human could reach her, only the fish. The fish couldn't talk, and neither could she, everyone just smiled at each other and went on with their lives. There was only peace, no one disturbed anyone, everyone got along without getting along, and she was happy, until she couldn't breathe anymore.

Usagi opened her eyes wide and finally released the air from her chest, enjoying the relief her body felt after its moment of strain. Yes, she had always viewed herself as a fish out of water; in her family, in this school, and in the world when she was old enough to be trampled in the ground even farther by her peers. At one point she thought that Draco understood her; that he loved her unconditionally as his twin sister, but she was wrong then too. He disowned her, just like everyone else. Another one bites the dust.

A ray of sunlight struck the side of her eye, and she reflexively closed them. She pulled herself into a sitting position and glanced out the window. The sun had slid halfway beyond the horizon already, it would be night soon. She hadn't even gone to dinner and her stomach was protesting its starvation. Even so, she didn't intend on feeding it today. She stood to her feet once more, half expecting her legs to crumple to dust beneath her. They remained solid, and she moved them forward, out of the dormitory and down the spiral staircase to the castle beyond.

* * *

By the time she planted her foot onto the lush grass in front of the castle, the sun had almost completely disappeared and the landscape around her was dim. The grass beneath her feet sprung back to life almost magically as she lifted her foot to take another step forward. She could already picture Draco's upset face reminding her how late she was, telling her how long he'd been waiting for her to show up.

She picked up her pace and made a beeline for the lake. Without looking up, she knew he was there. He had a certain presence about him that she couldn't miss. Maybe it was some twin connection, or maybe it was because it reminded her of her father so much. Whatever the case, she chose to continue watch the motionless grass at her feet until her eyes had her believing the ground was alive.

"Hello, Usagi." Of course, he always initiated their conversations and he always would. Ground rules; do not speak unless spoken to.

"What do you want Draco?" The words came out slightly louder than her normal quite tone, but she was more concerned on why she even said them. She knew very well what he wanted, why he had told her to meet him out here. Do not associate with Harry Potter.

"I recall you saying that you weren't going to mingle with Harry Potter. You should keep your distance; you know what father would do." Draco advised.

"He'd disown me. It might be a blessing since he already hates me. Harry's the one 'mingling', Draco." Usagi responded dully, finally bringing her eyes up to meet her brother's. For a moment she thought he looked pained, but on closer inspection she realized that he was just upset with her. '_Of course, Draco dearest doesn't show emotion towards his bastard sister_,' Usagi thought bitterly.

"So you're just playing along for convenience?" Draco questioned skeptically. '_Nor does he believe a single word she says,_' She added, sighing to herself.

"Would telling him to leave me alone be considered 'mingling'?" She clenched her eyes closed as tight as she could, determined to keep her emotionless façade flawless for her brother. After all, all feelings between family are almost always mutual, including lack there of. Do not speak to any Gryffindors.

"No, it would be wise." Draco shot back. She struck a nerve, and that was good enough for now.

"Then that's what I'll do. See you never." Usagi turned and walked back towards the castle, trying to feel the springing of the grass through the soles of her shoes and willing herself not to look back. Do not speak to your brother in front of the other students.

* * *

'_Breathe. Calm this sea of emotion. It's no match for willpower. I don't feel pain. I can't feel anything. I breathe anesthetic. I will live tomorrow alone, and the day after, and next week, forever. Numb. Little things don't matter._' Usagi's eyes opened as her tears evaporated. Her heart slowed, she felt calm again, calm enough to pass through the room of people that was her only obstacle to her bed, her ocean.

'_Is this a little thing? How do I know?_' She opened her mouth, the password slipping out of her memory, and closed it again. '_Every problem is small to a fish. Everything is a little thing in the ocean._'

"The password, dear," The fat lady interrupted, making Usagi jump back in surprise. The password came back to her.

"Angel fish," she mumbled. The fat lady smiled kindly before swinging open. No one noticed her entry, or her passing, and she was almost home free, until she felt a hand circle her arm and stop her. Her eyes met bright green ones, and she felt like breaking down, crying right there, but she breathed in and out. Every problem is small.

"I am Usagi Serenity Malfoy. No one speaks to me, Draco Malfoy is my twin brother, and I did get sorted into Gryffindor even though the rest of the family was in Slytherin. Your mystery is solved. Please leave me alone." Her voice was not her own, but it was a nice change for the problem at hand; vacant, cold, and demanding. She placed her hand over Harry's and pulled it off of her arm, continuing to her dormitory without another word. Harry was speechless.

* * *

I'm not sure what mood I'm in right now, so I can't explain this. Maybe it's because Deja Entendu is the soundtrack for this chapter. All I know is, it's much better than the original.

§SachiNyoko§ 'A conclusion is the place where you get tired of thinking.'


	4. Don't Tell Draco

"Good morning, class." Professor Desdemona greeted, her eyes shining mysteriously. The class was hesitant to reply, but most of the returned the greeting. Harry looked down at his hands, and then spared a glance at Usagi. She hadn't said good morning, and the expression on her face made Harry wonder if she even knew where she was right now. Every time he tried to approach her, she would look away from him and swiftly walk off. No matter how much it annoyed him, he really couldn't blame her.

"Well, for the most part you've learned the base history of Lunarian Magic. I could go on forever but I don't want to bore you or myself. Now, one thing you might want to know about me is I believe that teamwork is very important. Therefore, you will be working with a partner from this day forward. It's easier to learn Lunarian Magic with someone helping you anyways.

"So, I've assigned you all partners. The list is on the wall over there, find your partner and we'll continue." Professor Desdemona pointed over to the parchment hanging from the wall and watched with amusement as the class walked over to the list with an intense feeling of dread, Usagi in particular. She kept to the back of the group and waited until most of the people cleared aside before glancing at the sheet. Sure enough, Fate had seen fit to torture her further. Next to her name was the one she dreaded, Harry Potter.

"Looks like we're partners," Harry said to her, offering a smile. She didn't even consider responding, and kept her lips closed as though they were attached to each other. Maybe if she spoke with Professor Des after class, she could switch partners. It gave her a small ray of hope.

"Very good," Professor Desdemona smiled, and the class quieted their chatter. "Today we're going to perform a simple spell, since this is your first time. On the counter in the back of the room you will notice several potted plants, all of which are dead and so graciously donated by Professor Sprout. The spell I'm going to teach you will effectively rejuvenate the plant, if done correctly.

"Okay, first you take your wand and you trace a circle in the air, like so." Professor Desdemona picked up her wand and traced the said circle. Her wand left a silver glow to indicate the circle was there. "This is done before most simple spells of Lunarian Magic, to represent the Moon of course. Once you draw the circle you simply say the phrase '_Curatio Planta_'. Try saying it."

"_Curatio Planta._" The class repeated, most of them with the correct pronunciation. Only Usagi didn't participate. Professor Desdemona nodded in satisfaction, but glanced at Usagi questioning before continuing.

"Great. Now go get a plant, one for each person, and try the spell with your partner." She instructed.

"I'll get ours." Harry offered, walking back to the counter. Usagi frowned deeply at the desk in front of her. '_This is just great. Now what am I going to do?_' Harry returned seconds later with the plants.

"Um...I'll try first." He said, raising his wand. He traced a circle, and then said '_Curtio Planta_'. Nothing happened.

"You forgot the 'a' in Curatio." Usagi mumbled. Harry nodded and tried again. His plant sprung to life, its dead leaves becoming green again. Across the room, students were having similar success.

"You ready to try?" Harry asked, looking at Usagi. She nodded and raised her wand. Professor Desdemona walked over and stopped her before she could attempt the spell.

"Terribly sorry, m'dear, but I want to ask a favor. Would you touch the plant for me?" She asked with a pleasant smile. Usagi blinked.

"Sorry?" She asked quietly, confused on the professor's point.

"I have a hunch; just touch the plant for me please." Professor Desdemona pressed, giving her a meaningful glance. Usagi sighed and reached her fingers out to touch the plant. "Good, now say the words."

"_Curatio Planta_." Usagi said clearly. The plant attained a faint glow and the leaves regained their green color. It had come back to life.

"Splendid!" Professor Desdemona smiled brightly. "I was right then. Thank you, Miss Usagi." With that, she walked over to another student who was having trouble. Usagi frowned and looked at her plant. Harry eyed her curiously.

"What was that all about?" He asked. Usagi shrugged. Harry paused for a moment, thinking on whether to speak again. Usagi realized this and mentally groaned. There was no escape this time; she would have to listen to him. "Usagi, I wanted to say--"

"That you're sorry." Usagi whispered, ending the sentence for him. Harry blinked. "Don't."

"What do you mean 'don't'?" He asked. But it was over now, and she knew it. She felt eyes on her, watching her, scrutinizing her. Once again, Harry Potter saw fit to toss a few more wrenches into her life. Did he enjoy watching her squirm?

"You shouldn't apologize and you shouldn't be speaking to me like your are, or at least like you're trying to. You're causing much more trouble than your worth, and I can't handle that kind of stress. So you just stick with your friends and your life in the spotlight and I'll stick to mine in the shadows, okay?" She had closed her eyes the whole time she was talking, but she opened them now. For reasons unknown, she found it easier to speak if she couldn't see the person she was speaking to. Her eyes were frigid, and they almost made Harry shiver, but he pressed on.

"I don't care about your last name, you know, it doesn't affect who you are." He said. Those eyes, they burned right through her, and she knew she would pay for this, for his determination. She found her eyes closed once more as she searched for words. '_Every problem is small in the ocean._'

"You are not and will not be my rescuer, Harry Potter. Who are you really trying to save? Me or you?" Her monotonous voice from their previous encounter had returned full force, and she stared him down with everything she had. Harry was blown away once more, and saved from responding by Professor Des tapping her wand on the podium.

"Well, it seems I went easier on you than I thought, you've all used the spell correctly already so I'm dismissing you early." She smiled as the class let out a small cheer and dashed out of the class. Usagi watched everyone else leave, staying behind. Harry fled the classroom rather quickly, which allowed her mind to calm, if only for this moment.

"Is their something wrong, Miss Usagi?" Professor Desdemona looked over at the girl curiously. She nodded.

"I want to know what you meant earlier, when told me that you were right." Usagi said, her voice clear and more audible than usual.

"Oh, yes. Well anyone who is able to use Lunarian Magic without their wand definitely has Lunarian blood in them. I thought you did since you entered the classroom on your first day and it seems I was right." Usagi nodded her understanding. "And your other question?"

"Would you please give me a different partner?" Usagi asked, only mildly surprised that the professor knew she even had another question.

"I wish I could, dear, but I placed you with Mister Potter for a reason." Professor Des replied.

"Are you trying to save me too, then? I really don't appreciate the effort." The sarcasm in her voice wasn't intentional, but it fit, and it didn't upset her teacher in the slightest. On the contrary, she grinned knowingly and folded her arms in front of her, leaning on the podium like she often did.

"I can see your thoughts, Miss Usagi. They're like a marquee scrolling through your eyes. Your father is wrong, and your brother is wrong for supporting him. Harry has all the good intentions in the world, and I believe you should give him a chance." She said, her eyes never venturing from Usagi's.

"You don't know. You think you do, but you don't." Usagi replied, her eyes shifting around the room.

"No, Miss Usagi, you don't know. If you don't stand up and fight for your life then no one will. Do you want to be like this forever? No one wants to be alone all the time." Professor Des answered calmly.

"Don't act like you know what's best for me! You don't know!" Usagi screamed, turning on her heel and stomping out of the classroom, angry for the first time in a very long time. Professor Des watched her go with sparkling curiosity in her silvery eyes.

* * *

It happened almost like they told you it did on those weird television shows. How they showed it in the movies really. A girl walking alone on a dark and abandoned street, or in this case a hall, when all of a sudden a shadow reaches out to grab her, in this case several shadows, pulling her off to some unknown destination, which actually turned out to be an abandoned classroom. 

"Alright Malfoy, I thought we had already made this clear to you before. You seemed to be doing a good job of it too until now. It looks like you're going to need a reminder." One of the voices told her. Usagi shook her head and backed away. She remembered this, she remembered this well from first year.

_"GRYFFINDOR!" Usagi froze on her stool. The people in the hall stared as the little blonde haired girl stood slowly and walked towards the Gryffindor table. But there were so many eyes on her...so many. Usagi changed her mind at the last minute and changed directions, sprinting out of the hall. She ran for as long as she could, finally running out of breath and collapsing near a statue. She stayed there, gasping for air and thinking about what just happened._

_After about half an hour, a group of students showed up. A group of first year Gryffindors like herself apparently. They spotted her hunched form next to the statue._

_"Usagi, Professor Dumbledore sent us to find you. Come out so we can talk." One of the girls said softly. Usagi sighed and stood, walking out from behind the statue._

_"What is it?" She asked, staring at the four people before her. To her surprise, one of the boys grabbed her arm and shoved her against the wall. She let out a yelp of pain and the other boy pinned her there._

_"Look, Malfoy, I don't know what you did to that hat to make it put you in Gryffindor but we won't let you hurt Harry Potter." One of the girls said fiercely. _

_"But--!" Usagi began, but was cut off as the other boy punched her in the stomach. Her eyes widened in a mixture of shock and pain as the wind was knocked out of her._

_"Don't even deny it, Malfoy, we know how nasty your family is and there's no way you could make Gryffindor. Stay away from Harry Potter or we will have to hurt you." The other girl said dangerously. Then the four of them left, leaving her to clutch her stomach on the floor and gasp for air. However, after they found her asleep there the next day, she was made to go to class anyways. _

_"Quiet, class." Professor McGonagall told them as she began to call roll. Usagi frowned, as her seat was right next to the one and only Harry Potter. He smiled over at her._

_"Hullo, what's your name?" He whispered to her._

_"Usagi," she whispered back after hesitating. And then she felt eyes on her, burning through her. She fidgeted in her seat._

_"I'm Harry, something wrong?" He asked as he noted her constant fidgeting. Usagi shook her head as McGonagall started class. That night she paid dearly for the one word she'd uttered to him. The next day she was very careful to hide her bruises and not say so much as a word to anyone. It was easy give the fact that no one wanted to talk to her. Over a few weeks Harry had also forgotten about their little exchange in Transfiguration. It was all better, at least for now._

"Well? Do you have anything to say for yourself?" One of the girls asked harshly. Usagi flinched away from her.

"We were partnered up by Professor Desdemona; I had to talk to him." She said, backing away from them and right into the wall. They advanced on her.

"Give me a break." The other girl said. "We saw you talking to him in the common room and in Potions. We aren't stupid."

"But that was--"

"Shut up!" One of the boys pushed her sideways, making her hit the floor roughly, and then he kicked her. She whimpered in pain and held her side.

"The point is to keep your distance from him, or we will make your life hell." The other boy said and proceeded to kick her. Usagi curled up into a ball and drew her arms around her face to prevent bruising where she couldn't hide it.

"What's going on here?" Came an inquisitive voice from the doorway. The room silenced instantly. The four turned to look at the owner of the voice, but Usagi didn't dare to move.

"Hello, Harry! We were talking about the next DA meeting." Lavender Brown said, smiling. Usagi remained curled up; apparently Harry couldn't see her, and this was a good thing.

"Are you sure? You looked like you were kicking something..." Harry tried to spare a glance behind them.

"We were practicing hand to hand combat." Parvati Patil said, hiding her nervousness. Harry suddenly caught sight of a lock of silvery blonde hair snaking from behind the four.

"Then you don't mind if I join you?" Harry pressed, stepping closer.

"Well, we kind of wanted to surprise you by learning something new." Lavender said nervously.

"Surprise me now." Harry suggested.

"But the rest of the class won't get to see." Seamus Finnigan said desperately.

"You can show them later." He went on. The four gulped.

"But...but..." Parvati started, at a loss for words.

"Move over." Harry said darkly. The four in question nodded and moved to the side, revealing Usagi's form curled up on the floor.

"Usagi?" Harry asked, crouching down next to her. Her eyes snapped up at him and she moved away from him, backing into the corner. Harry glared at the other four Gryffindors in the room.

"We can explain, Harry!" Dean Thomas said.

"We were just trying to protect you!" Lavender piped in.

"Yeah, she is a Malfoy." Seamus pointed out.

"So what? She's in Gryffindor, isn't she?" Harry said, glancing at her trembling shadow in the corner.

"Yeah, but--"

"Just go!" Harry shouted at them. They immediately recoiled and left the room. He turned to Usagi. "I'm sorry, this is my fault."

"N-No." Usagi muttered, still shaking. Harry walked over to her, and Usagi realized she was trapped in a corner.

"Um...do you want to go to the hospital wing?" Harry offered, unsure of what to do. Usagi shook her head frantically. "Is there something you need or anything?"

"One thing," Usagi said, looking up at him with her fearful blue eyes. Harry nodded for her to continue. "Don't tell Draco."

* * *

_Curatio Planta is a Latin term, Curatio means healing and Planta obviously means plant! -;;_

Well, that chapter is done and longer than the last. What did you think was going to happen when you saw the title of the chapter? Perverts! XD But seriously, I'm not going to have any romance yet. After all, Usagi isn't prepared to become Harry's friend, let alone girlfriend. O.o;

I know that the four Gryffindors mentioned aren't that mean, but they really thought Harry was in danger and did the only thing they could to protect him. Or at least that's what they thought.

Okay, I'm running late so see you next chapter! Review!

§SachiNyoko§


	5. Aftermath

"Don't tell Draco."

"What? Why not?" Harry questioned, confused. He didn't even know why Usagi would think he would take the time to speak to Draco Malfoy, let alone tell him about what had just happened. Arch rivals usually don't take time out for friendly communication, right?

"If you tell him, he'll get mad and you of all people know how he is when he's angry. I don't want to cause unnecessary trouble over this, so please don't say anything to him about it, okay?" Usagi elaborated. Harry pondered for a moment before nodding his agreement.

"Okay, I won't breathe a word of this to anyone under one condition." He said. Usagi's eyes automatically flickered up to his, searching for the worst intentions. Truthfully, she didn't think that Harry wanted something that might be considered wrong in someone else's eyes, but she had a feeling that whatever he did want she wasn't going to like one bit.

"What?" She asked, trying not to sound as suspicious as she felt.

"Be my friend." He stated simply, innocently almost. Usagi winced as if the words had physically struck her. A brief image of Draco's angry expression flashed through her mind and she closed her eyes. Suddenly, her ocean had become a mud puddle, and this problem was very big. Now, she was being forced to go at odds with not only her brother, but her father as well, and he was definitely someone she did not enjoy crossing. On the other hand, if Draco found out about what the other Gryffindors had done to her, he would most likely do something rash and get in trouble. In turn, her father would push the blame on her and she would be punished.

"Um..." Again, she had to wonder, why Harry would do this when he knew how her family was. Why did he even care whether she had a friend or not? This was a question that she didn't think she wanted to know the answer to, "fine."

"Good. Now, as your friend," Usagi cringed. Surely he wasn't going to jump into the whole friendship bit too quickly? Couldn't they just start by waving at each other when they passed in the halls or something? "I would suggest that you see Madam Pomfrey about the bruises, some of them look pretty bad." Why of course not.

"Whatever you say," she replied dully, placing her hands on the ground beside and pushing her weight up from the ground. As soon as she leaned her weight on her left foot, she felt a sharp spasm of pain spread through her side. The sudden jolts made her quickly lean back on the other foot and lose her balance, falling back to the wall. Harry moved to walk closer to her, but she held up her hand to stop him before he got two steps in.

"What's wrong?" He asked awkwardly.

"I think I broke something." Usagi replied, pushing lightly on her ribcage and wincing.

"Um, do you need help walking?" Harry went on, offering a hand to her. She eyed it in a wary way and shook her head negative. Slowly, she stood up straight and tested her left foot again. She limped a few steps forward, and then turned back to face Harry.

"Are you coming?" She asked, and without waiting for the answer, she turned and started limping away again. Harry blinked and quickly followed after her. He walked a little way behind her, convinced she was going to collapse from strain any second, and watched her inch along. Surprisingly, she made it all the way to the infirmary. Once inside, she eased into a chair and clenched her eyes closed, breathing short, quick breaths. Seconds later, Madam Pomfrey burst from her office and honed in on Harry almost instantly, a knowing look in her eyes.

"What's wrong with you this time, Potter?" She inquired, her voice sounding blatantly annoyed. Harry grinned inwardly as he tried to count how many times he'd been in here since his first year. Blinking, he remembered the problem at hand, and quickly invented a story.

"Um...actually, it's not me this time. Usagi fell off her broom while we were practicing at the Quidditch Pitch." Harry lied, pointing to the silent blonde girl, who was still concentrating on breathing as slowly as possible.

"What's wrong dear?" Madam Pomfrey asked pleasantly, hurrying over to her side.

"I think I broke a rib." Usagi breathed. Madam Pomfrey shook her head.

"Kids these days, you can't have any fun without breaking something. Well, come on back so I can have a look at you." She said, motioning to one of the beds with a blue curtain draped around it. Usagi slowly rose to her feet once more and followed behind the nurse. Harry watched them disappear behind the curtain before sitting down in the chair that Usagi had just occupied and waiting. As was her specialty, Madam Pomfrey set and mended the broken bones within minutes.

"Do try to be more careful next time, Malfoy." The nurse was saying as the two emerged from the curtain. Usagi nodded numbly and headed straight for the door, leaving Harry to run after her. When he caught up, he really didn't know what to say, so he stayed silent. They walked in silence, which was quite nice in Usagi's opinion. She couldn't relish the peace for long, however, because the two of them ran into her brother half way to the Great Hall.

"Who's mingling?" Draco asked sarcastically.

"No one, we're just playing along for convenience around here." Usagi answered, if possible even more sarcastic. They stared each other down. Harry watched from the sidelines, not really sure if he should intervene.

"I should go send an owl to father right now." Draco said haughtily.

"Save me the trouble. Why don't you go and mind your own business while you're at it?" Usagi shot back.

"This _is_ my business." Draco growled.

"No, Draco dearest, you're my sibling, not my keeper. It's daddy's job to watch my every movement and punish me when I do wrong, I don't need the same from his little puppet." Usagi said bitterly. They glared at each other, equally icy stares. Apparently, the evil look runs in the family. Draco was about to respond when his eyes passed over Harry.

"We'll finish this later." He seethed before marching off. Usagi watched him go with something of regret in her eyes before turning and continuing towards the Great Hall.

"Idiot..." she muttered to herself, not even acknowledging Harry as he ran up beside her. He still couldn't think of anything to say, and Usagi didn't look like she wanted to hear anything out of him, so he just stayed quiet for the rest of the way.

* * *

Usagi pulled the hood of her cloak over her head and quickened her pace. This was her favorite way to travel through the halls of Hogwarts, silently and hidden. No one bothered her or stuck out their foot to trip her, because they didn't know who she was, and she liked it that way. Right now, though, there was more on her mind than dealing with the students that hated her. At the moment, she might blast one of them to pieces if they got in her way.

She'd been wandering the halls for at least an hour and still hadn't found him. She was worried, really worried, because he hadn't greeted her on the grounds to finish their argument, and Draco Malfoy never left an argument unfinished. He especially didn't miss an argument with his twin sister, because those were his favorites. She checked the library for the third time, and then sprinted out onto the grounds to search around their usual meeting spot.

This time, she found her brother, and felt an immense relief wash over her. He was sitting with his back to her, his shoulders hunched over. She walked up behind him, squatted down, and placed her hand on his shoulder. He jumped and turned his head towards her so fast that he might have snapped his neck. When he saw who it was, he immediately pulled his shoulder away and gave her an angry look.

"Have you come back to insult the puppet some more?" He asked bitterly, standing to his feet and brushing the dirt off of his robes. Usagi rose back to her feet and sighed.

"I'm sorry, Draco, I really shouldn't have said something so mean. I know that you don't follow his rules because you want to, neither of us do. You're my twin, you know, and I thought, when we were little, that we could stick together and make it through. Which one of us changed?" She lifted her head to face him, expecting to see his angry eyes, but he didn't look mad anymore. She didn't know what expression he had, honestly.

"I didn't know what to say to you. I still don't. I envied you, for getting into Gryffindor, because I though that you would get the chance we both wanted to break loose of our family. You could make friends and get away from all of this, something I can't do." He finally said, but he wouldn't make eye contact with her anymore. Usagi was shocked.

"You...were jealous? Draco, me getting into Gryffindor wasn't a chance to break free. Who am I going to make friends with? Everyone in that house hates me, and they..." She sighed, because she knew she'd just dug her own grave with that 'and they'. Draco was paying rapt attention to her.

"And they what, Usagi?" He pressed.

"And they're worse than father about me being in the same vicinity as Harry Potter. They think that I tricked the hat to put me in Gryffindor so I could harm their hero." This was the truth, but there was more, and she knew that Draco could tell there was more. "I want to tell Father myself about this whole thing with Harry, and I think...I think I'm going stand up and fight for my life this time, because no one else will if I don't, you know?"

"But Usagi," Draco began, and then realized he didn't know what to say.

"You don't have to help me, it's okay. I can do this on my own." Usagi smiled, and before Draco could protest, she threw her arms around him and hugged him. She let go quickly, because she knew it made him uncomfortable, and turned to head back to the castle.

* * *

§SachiNyoko§ 


	6. Letters and a Slytherin Boy

Usagi sighed to herself, reviewing the events of the past two weeks. She laid face down on her four-poster with her head in the pillow, holding her breath. Her mind could not even fathom how she managed to befriend her family's worst enemy, argue with her twin brother several times, and speak more than she had in several years.

Turning several ideas over in her head, she tried to think of a suitable way to break the news to her father that might spare her own life. It would be nobler to tell him to his face, but it would most likely result in her being beaten within an inch of her life. It might be easier just to not tell him at all and pray he doesn't find out, but knowing her father he would know within five minutes of her arrival home.

Perhaps she would just write him a letter. A nice, safely distanced notification would give him some time to cool down before they saw each other face to face again, though she doubted that any amount of calming time could save her from an inevitable fate. Still, it happened to be her best bet, so she rolled over in her bed and fished out some writing supplies from her trunk. Hesitant, she began scrawling onto the parchment, but quickly balled it up and fetched another piece.

It took her forty minutes to conjure up a letter that she felt decently satisfied with sending, and she leaned back in her chair with a huge sigh of relief that she'd completed the task at all. Before she could prepare it for post, however, a fellow Gryffindor strode into the room and sat down on the bed next to hers, Indian style, with an anxious look towards Usagi. The girl stayed silent for several minutes, and Usagi remained frozen in her seat, until the intruder finally spoke.

"Um...hello, I'm Hermione Granger. We've spoken a few times before; or rather I talked to you. Would you tell me your name?" The girl spoke briskly, sounding quite nervous. Usagi spared a glance at the girl and immediately recognized her.

'_Lovely. I'm guessing the only thing that could possibly upset father more than me befriending Harry Potter would be me befriending a mudblood. Should I add in the post script now so he can come down immediately when he receives the letter and not even wait for me to come back home before killing me?_' With a sigh Usagi looked Hermione directly in the eyes.

"Look, I really don't have anything against you, Hermione, but I can't be your friend. I'm associating with Harry because of sheer blackmail, and it's already causing terrible problems on my part. Please try to understand." Usagi said, quickly averting her eyes to her knees. Hermione recoiled, slightly hurt, and muttered an 'okay' before fleeing the room.

'_I'm going to fall apart soon._' Usagi climbed into her bed once more and buried her face in the pillow. Though she put much effort into it, she couldn't bring herself to cry. She squeezed her eyes shut as familiar pangs of anguish swelled in her heart, her hands gripping onto the sides of the pillow under her. Once again, like so many times throughout her childhood, she felt utterly alone.

* * *

Leaving the Owlery, Usagi felt a wave of foreboding sweep over her as she wondered how soon her father would receive the word. Draco greeting her in the Entrance Hall cut her thoughts short. Apparently, he'd been waiting for her. As she walked towards him, he offered up a lopsided, awkward smile, which vanished almost instantly, but the effort made Usagi feel a little better.

"So, you sent father a letter?" He asked slowly.

"Yes," she nodded, "now all I can do is wait."

"Yeah..." Draco froze again. He wanted to tell her that he would back her up; that he would take a stand with her and she wouldn't be alone, but he couldn't do it. He was not strong enough to stand up to his father, at least not yet. He wanted to ask her to wait for him to work up the nerve too, but he felt like that would be an unfair thing to request.

"I'm scared, you know," Usagi began. Draco started; he wasn't expecting her to say anything. "I'm scared of what he might do to me, because I don't think I'll be able to defend myself. But I'm more afraid that he'll involve you too, and you'll have to take his crap because of me."

"Don't...don't worry about that, okay?" Draco stopped as he watched Harry come out of the Great Hall and spot the two of them. "See you later." He said abruptly. Usagi blinked as he walked away and stood confused for a moment, until Harry popped up beside her.

"Hello." He greeted.

"Um...hi," Usagi replied uncertainly. '_Well, here goes another day._'

* * *

"Hey Ron, where's Harry?" Hermione inquired curiously as the two of them worked on their homework. Ron looked up from his Charms book momentarily before shrugging offhandedly.

"He's probably hanging out with that blonde girl. I'm expecting a wedding invitation any day now. If he even remembers we exist." The red-headed Weasley grumbled, scrawling on his parchment so forcefully that it ripped under his quill. Hermione patched it for him and frowned.

"He has been spending loads of time with her lately. I tried to talk to her again this morning and she said something about blackmail. On one hand, I haven't seen him as interested in anything since the whole thing with Sirius, so I'm kind of glad. On the other hand, the girl is kind of strange and I think she's associated with Draco Malfoy. I'm worried, really." Ron mumbled something under his breath but didn't respond. Not ten feet away, a certain blonde-haired girl tugged on her hood and sighed as she left the Gryffindor commons.

"I'd happily give your hardheaded friend back, Ron Weasley, if I could." She muttered to herself contemptuously as she ducked into the library, proud of herself for avoiding Harry most of the day. Dragging her feet along the floor, she browsed the shelves lazily looking for an interesting read.

She'd always been quite a bookworm, partly for the fact that the library was one of the few places on the Malfoy estate she could find peace and partly because she really had nothing better to do. The same circumstances applied to Hogwarts, and she'd read every book in there that sounded the least bit interesting. Of course, she'd drawn the line at titles like _1001 types of fungus_. There wasn't very entertaining monologue in a book like that.

Of course, she hadn't always been like this. There was a time when her father Draco actually loved her unconditionally. Hell, she helped teach Draco how to walk, and they learned how to ride brooms together. Her life was great up until that enchanted hat shouted 'GRYFFINDOR!' to a hall of waiting students, until the first time Draco ignored her, until the first time she'd been threatened for talking to Harry Potter.

'_I hate Hogwarts more than anything, and I hate Harry Potter._' She thought bitterly as she lifted a copy of _Hogwarts, A History_ from the shelves. This particular volume had a thick layer of dust on the cover, and Usagi grinned to herself as she pictured the castle on the cover simply burning to the ground.

"Wow, the only person I've ever seen get happy over _Hogwarts, A History _is Hermione." A voice mused from beside her. Usagi visibly flinched and slid the book back onto the shelf slowly.

"You know, your friends are upset with you." She said calmly, turning to face the green-eyed intrusion to her solitude. "They think you've been neglecting them. Maybe you should spend a few days with them and let me have some space."

"Um..." In all honesty, this was completely out of character for her to be so direct on such a subject, but she was starting to suffocate from all the pressure and didn't quite feel like beating around the bush. Harry blinked at her, slowly realizing that what she said made sense and that he had been spending very little time with Ron or Hermione lately. Besides, he knew Usagi wasn't exactly used to the concept of friendship and probably needed some time to get accustomed to the idea. "I guess you're right."

"I am. See you later, then." She flashed a mediocre smile and walked from the library swiftly, before he got it in his mind to ask her along. Pulling her hood so it completely shadowed her face, she sped through the halls of Hogwarts towards the Entrance Hall, intent on making it outside. She didn't quite make it there before she collided with someone and landed hard on the stone floor, her hood flying backwards.

"Hey, watch where you're going." The person spat. Usagi turned her blue eyes upward and met the face of a boy that had to be in Slytherin. He stared at her for a moment before he broke into a wide grin, revealing a set of horrible teeth.

"Um...sorry," Usagi mumbled, slowly getting to her feet and backing away from the boy.

-With Draco-

Draco Malfoy sighed heavily as he reentered the Hogwarts castle and crossed the Entrance Hall. He wasn't quite sure why he'd expected Usagi to be out there, but she didn't show either way. Still unsure of what side he would take in the inevitable stand off between his twin and his father, he'd been expecting to discuss the matter with Usagi further.

A muffled groan reached his ears, breaking him from his thoughts. _Unusual for someone to be in the halls at this hour_, he mused to himself, looking around for the source of the noise. He couldn't see anyone, but the sound he'd heard had definitely been real. To his left stood the only door that didn't lead to the Great Hall, which appeared to lead to the janitor's closet. Intrigued, he made his way for the door, convinced he was about to catch some couple making out and have some nice blackmail.

As he slung the door open, the sight that met his eyes was definitely not one he expected. If he'd been holding anything less than a metal doorknob he might have crushed it with his bare hands. Without even pausing to think, he pounced into the room and seized his fellow Slytherin by the robes, jerking him backwards. Surprised and off balance, the kid was shoved forcefully into the brick wall behind him and didn't have reflexes to block the punch hurled at his face, or the one that followed on the other side.

The third connected with his nose and he cried out in pain as he felt the bone snap and warm blood gush into his nostrils. When he looked up, he definitely did not expect to meet the cold blue eyes of Draco Malfoy glaring at him with pure abhorrence. The blonde boy hauled him to his full height by his robes and threw him into the Entrance Hall.

"If you ever lay a hand on my sister again I will make you regret your birth. I suggest you go to Madam Pomfrey and tell her about your nasty fall down the dormitory stairs." The disoriented Slytherin boy stared at the shivering blonde girl with wide eyes, his hand over his bleeding nose, before fleeing the scene as fast as his feet would carry him. Draco glared after him before turning back towards Usagi with a slight frown still on his lips.

The blue-eyed girl readjusted her robes, desperately trying to steady her trembling hands, and refused to look at her brother. She didn't know what to say, and honestly she was astonished at what he'd just done for her. Not to mention he'd called her his sister, something he hadn't done in a long while, especially in front of someone else. Try as she may, she couldn't contain her tears, and she crumpled into a sobbing mess unsure if she was upset over what had just happened or happy that her brother had saved her.

"Usagi," Draco began awkwardly, not sure of what to do now. Beating up the guy apparently was the easy part. Usagi reached out and grabbed onto the bottom of his robes, looking up at him with tears still running freely down her cheeks.

"I was so scared." She whispered, not able to raise her voice any higher. Draco gulped his nervousness down and squatted in front of her.

"Hey, don't cry." He said, patting her on the head. "I'll get you ice cream from the kitchens." At these words, a smile instantly lit up her flushed face.

"Chocolate?" She asked, wiping at her tears. Draco nodded, and she squealed with delight, jumping to her feet and dragging him along behind her.

* * *

Aha...hmm, I don't know whether I like this chapter or not...do you? It is an update, finally, and I realized that I really like this story. Usagi being Draco's twin sister was the best random idea I ever had. It's like two in the morning. I deserve some words from you...in a review. Ha ha, please?

Much love, Happy New Year!

-SachiNyoko-


	7. The Calm Before the Storm

Usagi dug into her bowl of chocolate ice cream at a dangerous pace, sure to incite a brain freeze, but it didn't hinder her in the least. Across the table, Draco looked on with mild amusement as she avidly ate through the mound of dessert with her eyes shining enthusiastically. Truthfully he hadn't seen her as happy in years and found that he'd missed her cheerful self, even though he would never say this out loud.

"So, it looks like everyone in school is going to find out we're siblings now." Usagi commented as she licked the remainder of chocolate from her lips. Shaken from his reverie, Draco raised an eyebrow at her.

"What makes you say that?" He asked.

"Well you told that guy I was your sister, I doubt he'll keep it to himself." She elaborated, proceeding to lick her spoon clean. Draco looked pensive for a moment before shrugging nonchalantly.

"I guess you're right. Stop that." Usagi looked at him over the rim of her bowl, which she had also been licking clean, and broke into a fit of giggles at the look on her brother's face. She sat the bowl back down on the table and looked at him with all seriousness, unaware of the chocolate smudge on her nose.

"So what are we going to do about it?" Draco frowned, trying to suppress the urge to laugh.

"You have chocolate on your nose." He informed, and Usagi quickly grabbed a napkin to rub it off. "What do you mean what are we going to do about it? Obviously we can't deny it; we're just going to have to go with it." Usagi stared at him misty-eyed, and he just blinked back before standing.

"Anyways, I still don't think it's a good idea for you to be hanging out with Potter, of all people." He said as she followed his lead.

"Believe me, if I had my way we'd never even look each other's way. But in a way, I'm kind of glad." Usagi smiled lightly as they left the kitchens and walked back towards the Great Hall. Draco sent her an inquiring glance, nodding for her to continue. "I'm finally going to stand up to our father, and you're talking to me again. It's not all bad."

Before Draco could respond, Usagi pushed open the door to the Great Hall and walked inside. As he went to follow, he found her frozen in the doorway, and quickly realized that most of the hall had silenced and turned in her direction. Frowning, he nudged her forward and slipped in the hall behind her, heading to the Slytherin table without even acknowledging the stares and whispers he was receiving.

Gulping down her anxiety, Usagi followed his example and took her usual seat at the end of the Gryffindor table, away from the rest of the students. Slowly, the normal chatter of dinner built back up to its usual level. Usagi let herself breathe again and began piling food on her plate carefully, skipping on the mashed potatoes that were placed beyond her reach. She didn't dare ask anyone to pass her anything.

* * *

"Welcome back, students." Professor Desdemona smiled impishly at her classroom as she leaned into her podium and observed them with her silver-hued eyes. Several students squirmed in their seats when her glance fell on them, which only fueled her grin more. She waved her wand at the blackboard next to her and the word '_Quiesco_' appeared in shimmering silver letters. Another wave and '_Quies Quietis_' materialized below it.

"These are the next two spells you'll be learning, and trust that they won't be as simple as _Curatio Planta_. They look similar, I know, but they're very different spells. The one on top is a simple sleeping spell, but extremely effective." Professor Des raised her wand to the board again and twitched it. The word '_Excito_' popped up next to _Quiesco_. "This is the charm that reverses the sleeping spell. The spell on the bottom is a silence spell, also very effective. '_Narro_' is the speaking spell that counteracts _Quies Quietis_."

The students watched with interest as the spell appeared on the board next to its counterpart. Professor Des stared at them for several moments before she sighed heavily.

"Well, get with your partner and try them." She instructed, rolling her eyes as the students jumped into action. Usagi turned her desk to face Harry's and frowned lightly as she pulled her wand from her robes. The green-eyed boy smiled at her as he put their desks together and sat back down. A few minutes of silence passed before he realized that he was going first. Slowly, he traced a circle with his wand as before and glanced at the blackboard quickly.

"_Quiesco_." He said uncertainly. Usagi blinked as she felt a wave of drowsiness hit her, but it was gone just as quickly. Harry stared for a moment before sighing. "No go, then?"

"I felt tired for a second..." Usagi trailed. "Try again." Harry nodded, and traced the invisible moon in the air once more. Though he spoke clearly, the spell still had very little effect, as did the silence spell when he tried it.

"Um...I'll try now." Usagi offered, raising her wand. As if on cue, Professor Des popped up beside her and grabbed onto her hand.

"Come now, Miss Usagi, surely you'd like to try without your wand?" She asked sweetly. Usagi sighed and reluctantly stuck her wand back in her robes. "Good. Now, hold out your hand towards Harry, palm outwards."

Professor Des demonstrated what she meant and Usagi mimicked her, feeling rather foolish. Harry just stared at the pair of them blankly, still unsure what this whole thing was about. Hesitant, Usagi glanced at the board once more before saying the spell clearly. To her surprise, Harry's head hit the desk and he began snoring. She blinked several times before looking at her professor with astonishment. The black-haired woman grinned back and nodded her approval.

"I think I should give you private lessons, one on one. These basic spells are far below your potential." She said, holding out her hand and saying _Excito_. Harry sat up again and rubbed his forehead, which was still red from hitting the desk moments before. "See me after class if you want to set that up." Professor Des told her before whisking away to a student who was completely butchering the pronunciation of the spell.

"What was that about?" Harry inquired. Usagi shrugged and quickly exited the class as the bell rang.

* * *

"Settle down. I want you in groups of four to six and I want the potion on the board to be completed by the end of class. This assignment will count as a portion of your exam grade so I suggest you don't goof off." The whole dungeon seemed to groan at once as Professor Snape made his announcement.

"This potion is ridiculously hard." Hermione commented as she began laying out ingredients on their table. Harry looked at his friend with worry. If Hermione thought it was hard, there was no chance for the rest of them. Unless...

"Hey Usagi, come be in our group." Harry called. Said blonde girl jumped and looked over at his table, at which Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Neville Longbottom and he was seated. Apprehensively, she collected her things and made her way to their group, smiling apologetically towards her brother.

"Usagi, this is Hermione, Ron, and Neville. Guys, this is Usagi, and she's a genius when it comes to potions." Harry introduced with a grin. Usagi flushed lightly as she piled her belongings on the table and took a seat. They shared awkward hellos before immediately starting on their project.

Usagi and Hermione both took charge in their own separate ways. Hermione took care to make sure Neville did everything he was assigned properly while also tending to her own tasks. Usagi chopped the ingredients and made sure that Harry and Ron measured all the powdered substances correctly. Harry instructed Hermione to let Usagi stir the potion, and she did so without argument, though she appeared slightly indignant. She had no complaints later as she watched Usagi at work, brewing the potion as if she were the potions master herself.

"How did you become so good at potion brewing?" Neville asked dreamily. Usagi blushed lightly as she directed Harry to add the next ingredient and began stirring clockwise.

"I don't know. It's just a natural thing for me I guess." She replied, glancing over at the group her brother was in. To her surprise, he wasn't there. She looked around with confusion and nearly jumped out of her skin when he appeared beside her seconds later. The rest of her group eyed the Slytherin boy warily, but she smiled brightly at him.

"Hey, I need your help." He mumbled to her, too low for the rest of them to hear. Usagi looked at him uncertainly and then turned her eyes down to her potion. Sighing, she turned to Hermione.

"Could you take over for a minute?" The brown-haired girl nodded and took Usagi's place in front of the cauldron while she followed her brother over to his table. One look at the substance in his cauldron and she immediately knew why he'd called on her. "Draco, it's pink."

"I know." He grumbled.

"It's not supposed to be pink."

"I know."

"You have to mess up pretty bad for it to be pink."

"I know, okay? Just fix it please." He snapped angrily. Usagi grinned in amusement as she surveyed their remaining ingredients.

"I'll help you if the rest of your group will stop glaring at me." The blonde informed cheerfully, glancing at said Slytherins with an unwavering smile. They averted their glances as requested. Usagi nodded in approval and began measuring ingredients frantically, stirring the potion the whole time with one hand. It took her a good ten minutes, but she finally returned the potion to its expected murky green color.

"There, I've saved the day." Usagi smiled at her obviously annoyed sibling and rushed back to her own group to make sure everything was running smoothly. She arrived just in time to prevent Neville adding the wrong ingredient and ruining all their good work. Otherwise, the potion was absolutely perfect, which Snape had a very hard time admitting. He appeared ready to explode as he wrote down their grades and moved on.

"So, Usagi, how do you know Draco Malfoy?" Hermione inquired nonchalantly, receiving a rather upset look from Harry that she blissfully ignored. Usagi looked over at her fellow Gryffindor and then over at Draco, who was deep in conversation and not even acknowledging her gaze. Biting her lip with nervousness, she turned back to her group to find them eagerly awaiting her answer, except for Harry who already knew the truth of their relationship.

"He's my twin brother." She said calmly. Surprised looks and widened eyes invaded the faces of her classmates as they looked between the two siblings, noticing the uncanny resemblances they shared. Usagi smiled lightly to herself, glad that she didn't have to lie about it anymore. "I know it's unexpected for someone in the Malfoy family to not be in Slytherin, but we really are siblings."

No one at the table spoke. They just glanced at each other every once in a while, no idea what to say. A Malfoy in Gryffindor? The thought seemed to defy the very laws of nature. The girl before them didn't look fazed by their lack of conversation or their blatant shock; she just smiled to herself and piled her things back into her school bag.

* * *

Hello my avid readers...or first time readers...this chapter is relatively uneventful/boring, but it's all leading up to the excitement of next chapter. Lucius Malfoy will receive the letter his beloved daughter sent to him, Usagi will begin private lessons with Professor Des to learn more complex Lunarian Magic, and some other things that shall be a surprise. I still need reviews for inspiration. –wink wink-

Thank you all and...review some more:)

-SachiNyoko-


	8. A Dream or A Memory?

With a quirked eyebrow, Lucius Malfoy delicately unfolded the piece of parchment that the owl perched on his chair just delivered. Undeniably the scrawl of '_Father_' on the outside couldn't belong to anyone but his daughter, and Lucius felt irrationally apprehensive at what the contents might enlighten.

As his sharp eyes weaved back and forth across the page, the frown on his lips chiseled in its place, making the unmoving man look like an angry statue. When he did finally move, it was only to rip the letter in half and toss it away from him, anger blatant in his features. The owl beside him screeched crossly and flew out the window immediately, Lucius slamming the opening shut behind him.

"Who does she think she is?" He growled angrily, snatching the ripped letter from the floor to read over it again. Rage blinded him as he crumpled the parchment in his fist and made for his cloak. He would not stand for such mutiny from his offspring, especially Usagi. Before he could throw the door open to his home and leave for Hogwarts, a delicate, pale hand rested on his shoulder and tugged him back to reality.

"Lucius, where ever are you going?" Narcissa smiled furtively at her husband, never removing her hand from his shoulder. Lucius turned towards her with a frown and pulled her hand off of him.

"Hogwarts. Usagi has severely disobeyed me." He spat angrily. Narcissa arched her perfectly plucked eyebrow at her husband.

"Is this about that prophecy thing again? I swear, Lucius, you're carrying this way out of hand. At this point, Usagi is too terrified of you to ever fulfill that silly thing." She cooed.

"Apparently she's not too terrified to send me a letter telling me all about her insubordination." Lucius barked, making to turn away and head off again. Narcissa gripped his cloak and pulled him back, ignoring the dangerous look in icy eyes as she smiled at him again.

"No, that proves it, Lucius. If she weren't afraid of you she wouldn't have told you at all." Lucius frowned, pondering this.

"I need some time alone." He growled, turning towards the stairs and leaving his wife standing at the entrance of their home. Narcissa watched him leave calmly, butas soon as his cloak swished out of sight she walked to the living room. Looking around briefly, she located the crumpled parchment on the floor. Picking it up and smoothing it, sheskimmed over it. A truly malicious look appeared on her face as she looked at the staircase where her husband had disappeared.

* * *

'_If the serpent and the lion ever unite, you will fall._' Of all the rules Usagi Serenity Malfoy could have broken, she chose to break this one. Under no circumstances could he allow this, he knew that. Letters upon letters to Dumbledore wouldn't work, that fool refused to switch Usagi's house in the first year. If he wasn't so incompetent then there would be no problem now.

Lucius pacedacross the hard floor of his bedroom, eyes jerking back and forth as if the answer to his problems were about to pop up next to him magically. Nothing did, and he ran his hand through his mane of blonde hair as he tried to conjure up his own solution. Perhaps he should just withdraw Usagi from school altogether. That would solve everything. But how could he do that without looking completely suspicious?

'_If the serpent and the lion ever unite, you will fall._'

* * *

Silence was never something that truly bothered Usagi, but right now the emptiness around her troubled her greatly. Turning her blue eyes up to Hermione Granger, she studied the brown-haired Gryffindor for a moment. The other girl never lifted her quill from her potions essay or looked around, but by the spontaneous jerks in her hand said she knew someone was watching her.

"Need any help, Hermione?" Usagi asked uneasily as she rolled up her assignment and stored it safely in her bag. Her brown eyes finally flickered off of the homework and to the blonde girl.

"Um...no, not really, I'm almost done." She replied politely, immediately turning back to her work. Ron frowned slightly as he noted the anxious look on Usagi's face while she fiddled with her bag. Harry looked over at her with some concern, butappeared indefinitely clueless. Sighing, Ron sat his quill down.

"Oi, Usagi, I need some help." He said, making the blonde jump. She looked at him with mild surprise, and then beamed. Dragging her bag with her, she moved next to him on the couch and leaned over his half-completed essay. As her eyes traveled down the paper, she pursed her lips together in an unreadable expression and looked up at him when she finished.

"Where did you get the information in this essay?" She asked slowly. Ron grinned somewhat sheepishly as he looked back at her.

"I kind of winged it, is it that obvious?" At Usagi's nod, he groaned. She giggled and pulled the parchment closer to her.

"Look, I'll help you weed out all the stuff that isn't true and we'll replace it. At least you'll be accurate." She offered, and Ron nodded eagerly as he produced a fresh roll of parchment from his bag.

* * *

"Draco?" Usagi tilted her head and bent down, trying to get a good look at her brother's face. He hadn't formally called her out to their meeting spot in a while so she knew it must be pretty urgent. Draco kept his eyes on the ground, frowning, but he quickly cleared his expression and looked into his twin sister's curious blue eyes. Gulping down all anxiety, he cleared his throat.

"Usagi, has father responded to your letter yet?" A flicker of sadness flashed through Usagi's features as she shook her head gracefully, braid swaying back and forth with the movement. Draco frowned again and looked back towards the earth pensively.

"Why do you ask? Did he send something to you instead?" She inquired, stepping closer to her sibling. Draco shook his head immediately, and Usagi didn't miss the jitter that accompanied his actions. Hesitantly, she reached for his hand and grabbed onto it, looking up at him with a smile.

"Draco, I won't hold it against you if you choose his side, okay? I know you're scared, but remember that you're my brother. You've been there for me since we were little, and I'll love you no matter what you decide." Usagi wiped at her eyes hastily, never losing her smile.

"He's trying to get you expelled." Draco blurted, and Usagi's eyes widened. "He's so against you being friends with Potter that he's going to try to get you expelled. Be careful, okay? We can't let that happen under any circumstances."

"Okay." Usagi nodded with determination. Without any warning she pounced on him and hugged for all she was worth. To her surprise, he hugged back briefly before they broke apart. She absolutely beamed at him before turning and heading back up to the school with a newly wary mind.

* * *

"Alright class, today we are going to continue practice with the silence and sleeping spells. They're both written on the board, be sure you're pronouncing them correctly, and don't forget to trace the moon with your wand before saying the incantation." Professor Desdemona instructed. Grinning, she connected eyes with Usagi and beckoned her over. With a quick apology to Harry she rushed over to the Lunarian professor.

"You're looking much better, Miss Tsukino, albeit a little uptight. I was concerned when you didn't stay to set up private tutoring last class. Aren't you interested?" The silver-eyed woman asked. The image of an angry Lucius Malfoy flashed through Usagi's mind and she nodded. "Wonderful. Does Tuesday and Thursday of every week sound good?"

"Yes ma'am." Usagi scurried back over to Harry and smiled lightly at him.

"I've been practicing this spell and I think I've got it." He said merrily, grinning at her as he raised his wand. "_Quiesco_"

"I was almost out that time, try once more." Usagi said, blinking away the drowsiness that had overcome her through the spell. Harry nodded and repeated the spell again, making sure his words were correct and timed perfectly. To his relief, Usagi's eyes fluttered close and she collapsed forward into the desk with an audible thump.

-Usagi's Dream-

A horrid screech filled the stagnant air all around her, and the toddler's head turned towards the noise. A woman, nothing short of beautiful, slumped painfully to her knees. Her milky white arms curled around her body and her nails dug into the skin. Tousled lavender hair hung all around her as she shivered, spasms running up and down her spine. A man stepped from the nearby shadows with a smirk playing on his lips.

"Yes, the child is leaving you. The charm is working." He hissed gleefully, blood red eyes flashing. The woman cried out again and grabbed onto the hem of the man's robes. He stepped back, a look of pure revulsion on his face, but she clung to him desperately.

"No, please...don't take my child away." She choked, her face twisted in agony,before vomiting at the man's feet. He growled and kicked her hand away.

"Relax. She's going to be born, just not to you. Her power is rightfully mine." The man cooed with false admiration as the woman squirmed and screamed again, digging into her sides more forcefully than before. The small blonde child clenched her fists and ran to the screaming woman, intent on wrap her arms around her neck, but her hands went right through.

"Why are you...doing this to me?" The woman cried, gagging once more.

"Imagine a child with the blood of four powerful wizarding families running through her veins. I am creating a prodigy, and you have already served your purpose. The child will be born to another now." The man grinned devilishly as the woman threw herself at his feet, clinging to his legs once more.

"I thought you loved me." She whispered, her voice cracking with every syllable. The man put his hand under her chin and tilted her head up forcefully, his fingers digging into her jaw.

"I love no one." He spat, pushing her backwards. She crumpled into a heap and lay unmoving, no longer screaming or writhing in anguish. Her hollowed eyes stared up at the man above her, chest heaving with empty breath. "The child is gone. Be happy, Serenity, you've carried the most powerful hybrid known to the wizarding world inside you're undeserving body."

"She will never, ever serve you Voldemort. Though the child is gone from me she carries my spirit with her. Her heart will be too pure for you to control. I cannot change the course of things now, but remember this. If the serpent and the lion ever unite, you will fall." With one last exhale of air, Serenity's eyes clouded over with the stillness of death. Voldemort frowned deeply before disappearing from the scene with a small pop.

The crack that followed came with a tingling sensation that spread through the toddler's face. She held her small hand against her throbbing cheek and wailed at the top of her lungs as the scene melted away completely into her father's study. The enraged blue eyes of Lucius Malfoy glared down at her as she cried, and he raised his hand once more.

"Have I not told you to stay out of my study, child? Have I not told you this?" He shouted, and Usagi trembled pitifully beneath him, barely mustering a small nod in response.

"I'm sorry, Father." She mumbled, shrinking as low to the ground as she possibly could.

"You deliberately defied me, and you expect no punishment?" Lucius bent down and wrapped his hand around the small girl's arm, intending to pull her to her feet.

"Father! Stop!" Came another yell of a child. Draco sprinted into the study and wrapped his arms protectively around his twin sister, looking up at his parent with an unwavering bravado. "Usa didn't mean it, I dared her to! Don't hurt her!" Lucius looked ready to kill, until a feminine hand rested on his arm and pulled him back slightly.

"Lucius, be reasonable, they're only children. It's natural for them to be curious." Narcissa spoke softly as she turned towards her children. "You two go up to bed, okay? Your father will come up with a suitable punishment for your disobedience later." Without another word, Draco hauled his sister to her feet and they both fled from the room. Lucius looked down at his wife with clear malevolence.

"You have no right to interfere." He growled dangerously. Narcissa smiled sweetly at him as she withdrew her hand from his arm.

"They're my children too, dear, and you won't be giving them a punishment I don't approve of." She said flatly, turning on her heel and gliding from the room. Lucius merely glared after her.

-End Dream-

"Usagi, wake up." The silvery voice of Professor Desdemona greeted Usagi's ears wonderfully as she sat up straight. To her surprise, the cold stone floor of the classroom was beneath her, and the class was gone save for Harry and the professor. Blinking at her surroundings, Usagi slowly recalled the series of events that transpired before she'd had that horrible dream, or rather memory.

"Eat some chocolate, dear, it works wonders." Professor Desdemona smiled as she handed over the hunk of chocolate. Usagi took it without complaint and took several bites, enjoying the warmth that spread through her chilled form.

"What exactly happened?" The blonde questioned, arching an eyebrow at her instructor.

"Apparently a dream spirit got a hold of you, the reverse spell wasn't working. We had to wait for you to wake up on your own. Sometimes when you try to bury too many memories in your mind, they do anything they can to get back out again." The dark-haired woman smiled ominously as she stood and offered her hand to Usagi. The blue-eyed girl got an eerie feeling as she accepted the hand and returned to her full height, gulping down the last bit of chocolate.

"Shouldn't she go to the hospital wing?" Harry asked, finally jumping into the conversation. Professor Desdemona shook her head lightly.

"I don't see why, she's perfectly healthy. Perhaps a little relaxation will do you some good though." Her silver-eyes shined brightly as the two Gryffindors agreed and left the classroom, following them all the way. For a brief moment, they flashed from silver to a ruby red. "It's nice to see you again, little rabbit."

* * *

Ooh the suspense! -squeals- I had so much fun writing this chapter, you couldn't know. I'm all giddy right now. The reviews for this story are so wonderful and kind, you've all pushed me to keep up with this story. I'm so inspired by your comments. -grins like mad- Anyways, this chapter is definitely more eventful than the last.

By the way, whatever you're thinking about Professor Desdemona is almost certainly off the mark. If you can guess what's going on there I'll be completely impressed with your deduction skills. Muahahahaha I am evil!

As for Narcissa, what can I say? I have a thing for the characters than Rowling includes but doesn't nurture, like Narcissa Malfoy and Lee Jordan (see my story Time). Tell me what you think about her role in this chapter. Wasn't Draco protecting his little sister just the cutest? I can picture the little darlings in my head. -swoons-

Okay, no more tootsie pops and soda for me...at least together...with Skittles...anyways, I think I threw everyone for a nice loop! Go me! Review some more so you aren't stuck with this cliffhanger like thing forever! I'll do it, I'm that evil. Okay it's like one in the morning and I'm way beyond crazy hyper. But I really will do it. You better review. I know blackmail.

-SachiNyoko-


	9. Donovan and Arista

**Warning:** There's a nasty curse word in this chapter, just so you know. -readers stare like I'm an idiot- What? It bothers some people.

* * *

"Arista, pray tell, who _is_ that?" The brunette girl shifted her eyes in the direction her companion was looking, and then rolled them towards the bewitched ceiling before turning full attention back to the _Witch Weekly_ in her hands.

"It's Harry Potter, Donovan." She spoke absently. The onyx-haired boy frowned at her flippant behavior, snatching the magazine from her grasp. She glared up at him, green eyes shining with hostility.

"Why do you read this trash? I don't mean him, I mean _her_." Arista looked back towards the boy who lived, noticing the blonde at his side for the first time. Her thinly plucked eyebrows furrowed, causing a wrinkle to appear on her forehead. A triumphant smirk pulled on Donovan's lips. "Don't tell me I've found a person at Hogwarts that Arista the mouth knows nothing about."

"Shut up, Donovan! If I've never even seen her before, she's obviously insignificant." Arista snapped haughtily. Her eyes burned through the blonde with a fiery hostility, while Donovan smirked beside her. He didn't flinch under her stare, eyes flickering like jade flames.

"You're overreacting, Arista, we've been through this. She's automatically significant if she's associated to Potter, and yesterday, I saw her in the hall with Draco Malfoy." Arista's furious mood did a 180, and she raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"You don't expect me to believe that there's anyone who could hang out with _Prince_ Potter," she spat the name like a nasty mucus, "and Draco Malfoy at the same time. They're sworn enemies, arch rivals even."

"I only know what I've seen with my own two eyes, Arista. You have to admit that Draco and that girl are the spitting image of each other. Find out everything there is to know about her, as I know you can. This may be the chance I've been looking for." Donovan's ocean blue eyes shone with something quite mischievous as he watched the two supposed Gryffindors chat amiably. Arista's red-painted lips puckered into a frown as the boy stuffed her copy of _Witch Weekly_ in the garbage can and pointed towards them.

"I'll know her life story by tomorrow." The brunette boasted with angry determination shining in her eyes. Donovan smiled with pure sugar as he watched her walk off.

"Let's hope so."

* * *

"Draco!" Usagi called, running after the blonde Slytherin. His cronies, Crabbe and Goyle, turned towards her and glared, but the sharp look that Draco gave them ended their hostility almost instantly. He told them to go on without him, and pulled Usagi into an empty classroom.

"You have to be careful, Usagi, you know we can't be seen together." Draco ran his hand through his hair, which was free of its usual gel.

"I know, I'm sorry. I like your hair better without all that goopy stuff in it." She giggled, her eyes dancing happily as her brother glared at her. Shaking his head, he looked at her with all seriousness.

"Was there something you needed to talk about?" He asked, immediately changing Usagi's expression to a solemn one. She bit down on her bottom lip, like she often did when she was nervous, and looked at her shoes.

"I'm really worried about--"

"Well, well, what do we have here?" The two blonde heads immediately turned towards the doorway, eyes wide on the tall girl who stood there. A feral smile stretched over her ruby lips, eyes flickering like jade flames. A sneer appeared on Draco's face of which caliber he usually saved for Harry, while Usagi looked between them in confusion. "Am I interrupting some secret rendezvous?"

"Shut it, Arista. Why don't you go hang out with Pansy?"

"Come now, Draco, you know I only entertain pug-face's illusion of friendship because she's a valuable source of information. Who is this you've got with you, though? I know she's not a Slytherin." Arista's calculating gaze turned towards Usagi, who had no idea what to say.

"It's none of you're business who she is," Draco spat, his glare at the brunette girl never wavering.

"She looks a lot like you though," Arista commented innocently, which caused Usagi to emit a high-pitched squeak, like a mouse caught in a trap. Draco raised his eyebrows at her, while Arista's grin widened. "What's her name?"

"Once again, I don't see how that's any of your business." Draco sneered. Arista raised her eyebrows in mock surprise, looking at Draco with wide eyes.

"My, my, why so touchy? I just inquired to her name, there's no reason to get all bent out of shape; unless, of course, you're trying to hide something." Arista smirked in triumph at Draco's torn expression.

"Usagi. My name is Usagi." The two Slytherins looked at the small blonde in surprise, and she smiled in return. "There's no harm in her knowing my name, right?"

"See, one of you is rational at least." Even though Usagi claimed there was no harm, she didn't really feel that way. This girl's manipulative demeanor worried her as much as she hated to admit it. Arista walked closer to Usagi, her eyes drinking in the smaller girl's features. Draco clenched his fists together, certain that if Arista wasn't female he would've punched her out by now.

"She's very pretty, Draco. Is she your girlfriend?" Arista's ruby-painted lips twisted into a smirk at the blush**1** that cropped up on Usagi's face. The blonde girl shook her head negative, which made the smirk falter slightly.

"No, that's not it at all." Usagi protested, looking to Draco for backup. The Slytherin boy stood there like a typical deer in the headlights, idiotic and unmoving. Usagi's pale, pink lips mirrored Arista's puckered frown as she looked at him. Sighing, she glanced at her bag, swinging at her side, and let out a fake cry. "I'm late for class!"

"Hey!" Arista called, glaring at the blonde's back as she sprinted from the classroom. Draco caught on and repeated her line about being late before exiting the room, leaving a cross Arista alone.

* * *

Usagi dropped into her seat with a sigh of relief. Divination happened to be the only class she had without anyone she knew, which is probably why she enjoyed it so much. Even though she held a general dislike for the professor, it was bearable. She chanced a glimpse of the person sitting beside her at the small table, and met gazes with a set of ocean-blue eyes, which looked somewhat triumphant.

Her brow creased in confusion as he smiled at her, and she couldn't bring herself to return the gesture. He even went so far as to offer his hand to shake, but her hands stayed clenched to the handles of her armchair. The strange boy's smile barely wavered as he lowered his hand back to his own armchair.

"You're very pretty, what's your name?" This being the second time that Usagi had been called pretty that morning, she wouldn't have thought it to be very effective, but her face felt like it'd been lit on fire. Somehow, though, the look in this boy's deep blue eyes made her even less trusting of this speaker than the last.

"Usagi," she answered, in a tone that suggested that she was unsure if this might really be her name. Subconsciously, she shifted in her seat to put a little more distance between herself and the stranger, but he didn't seem to notice. "What's yours?"

"Donovan," he replied, and she could hear the level of confidence in his voice. It reminded her of her father, and she shuddered. "Are you cold?"

"No," Usagi was surprised at her quick response, and apparently Donovan was too, because he lifted his eyebrows up in a surprised manner. The fading redness of her cheeks came back full force, and she quickly looked towards Professor Trelawney as the bug-like woman entered. Out of the corner of eye, she could see the smirk on Donovan's lips, and the unsavory shimmer in his blue eyes.

"Good Morning, class." Her magnified eyes passed over the classroom as the student's dully echoed her statement. A supposed mysterious smile lit up her thinly stretched lips, as she added, "Or is it?"

The class stayed silent, a group of seventh years who've grown used to the woman's nonsense. Most of them were just taking this course as an easy-to-pass filler class, a nice grade for their transcript. Few, like Usagi, were even mildly interested in the class itself. The blonde Gryffindor figured, if it weren't for Trelawney's melodrama, the class could be pretty fun, or at the very least entertaining.

"I was disappointed in your meditation last class. Very few of you made any progress." She spoke accusingly and flickered her large, shiny eyes from student to student. Usagi shrunk under her stare, unnerved by the unnaturally magnified eyes of her professor. Moments later, she would've preferred the stare down to the hand on her arm. Her wide blue eyes traveled over to Donovan, who smiled back as though it were natural to touch someone you barely knew.

"Usagi, as one of the few who did make progress, could you show the class how it's done." The blonde took this moment to pull her arm away from Donovan, and nodded to her professor, careful to avoid eye contact with the woman. The class stood expectantly, and Professor Trelawney waved her wand. The table and chairs disappeared, leaving only the rectangular mats on the floor under them.

Usagi sat Indian-style on the mat, significantly aware of the dark-haired boy sitting close to her, and held her breath. In her mind, she submerged herself in her ocean and watched the silent fish swimming by, unconsciously exhaling as she floated. Unknown to her, she really was floating, and the class was watching her in awe as she floated inches off of the ground. Her brow furrowed, covered in perspiration.

'_Remember me._' Usagi looked up, met eyes bluer than the ocean around her, and her mouth dropped open. The sensation of water rushing in her mouth confused her, she began to cough and choke. An image of a dying lavender haired woman invaded her eyes, drowning out all other thoughts, even the silent fish as they swam away from her.

Meanwhile, back in Trelawney's classroom, the students' awe had slowly turned into a mild horror. Small bolts of black lightning crackled around the blonde girl, her face twisted in agony, as her breathing came out in short gasps. Trelawney held the few students that tried to snap her out of it back, shouting, "Nobody touch her! She's having a vision of some sort!"

As soon as a cry erupted from her mouth, however, one of the students leapt forward and tackled her from her midair position. Usagi's eyes opened, only to meet a pair of increasingly familiar blue. Her own eyes were swimming in tears. Trelawney immediately pushed Donovan off Usagi, pulling the blonde in a sitting up position and shaking her shoulders lightly.

"Child, what did you see?" Usagi's head swam as she was forced to look directly into Professor Trelawney's huge, bug eyes. '_Remember me._' Her head throbbed against her skull, like the steady beat of a drum. She cradled her head in her hands, trying to push the painful thoughts away.

"Professor, maybe she should go to the Hospital Wing." For the first time, Usagi was grateful to the strange boy and his touch as he pulled her from Trelawney's grip. She could still feel the woman's fingernails digging into her arms, if only as a dull throb, but it was drowned in the pain of her throbbing head. Professor Trelawney opened her large mouth to protest, but Donovan was already helping Usagi down the silver ladder.

Once a safe distance away from the classroom, Usagi looked over at the ocean blue eyes that'd been watching her the whole time. Her hazy vision clouded his facial features, and she was uncomfortable with being in such a vulnerable state in the presence of a stranger.

"You okay?" He asked, smiling another of his calculating smiles. She now knew why this boy reminded her of Arista. Everything about them was precise, shrewd, and perfect. Nothing spontaneous, almost like a robot.

"Yes, I'm fine." Usagi replied, instantly stepping away as he moved closer to her. He frowned, but came back full force with a glamorous smile that looked like it'd belonged to a movie star. The disturbing image of Donovan tearing the smile off someone's face and replacing it with his own conniving smirk entered Usagi's head, and she shook it tothrow off the thought. Unfortunately, she forgot about her throbbing headache, and the pain made her dizzy. As the stumbled, Donovan caught her around the waist, pulling her back against his chest.

For thefourth time that morning, Usagi felt her cheeks flaming with embarrassment. In all honesty, she'd never been this physically close to anyone aside from her brother, and maybe that one Slytherin boy, but she didn't want to think about that. Instead of her throbbing head, now she heard the steady beat of her heart in her ears. The moment was interrupted swiftly, however, by the sound of an extremely familiar voice.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Usagi felt Donovan's grip on her completely slacken, and she fell to the stone floor, her knees banging painfully against it. Her blue eyes jumped upwards, looking disbelievingly at the angry face of her twin brother. Donovan held the same shocked look, unwilling to believe that it was Draco Malfoy in front of him, fists clenched in a manner that clearly said he'd love nothing more than to break his nose.

"I could ask you the same thing." Donovan said smoothly, quickly regaining composure. He offered his hand to the fallen Usagi, but she wisely stayed motionless, staring at the hand as though it were something foreign to her.

"Why aren't you in class, Draco?" Usagi asked quietly, pulling the angered boy's attention to her. Donovan dropped his hand to his side uselessly, looking between the two. The look on Draco's face was indignant, to say the least.

"Why am I not in class? Why are you wandering the halls with _him_?" The way her brother said 'him' made her raise her eyebrows as she looked at Donovan. The blue-eyed boy shrugged, flashing another of his eerie movie star smiles. Apparently, this was the end of the line for Draco, for he literally pounced toward the dark-haired boy. Usagi, reacting quicker than she thought possible for her, leapt at him, tackling him backwards just before his fist connected with Donovan's face.

"Draco, stop this!" Her dizziness returned to her, distorting her vision. Flinching as Draco angrily pulled her to her feet with him, her vision blurred further with tears. He turned and walked off, pulling her behind him. Donovan stayed motionless, but as the two disappeared around the corner, his lips broke into a grin full of malicious intent.

* * *

**1**- Just to clear this up, Usagi is blushing because Arista said she was pretty, not because she implied that the twins were a couple.

Ladies and gentlemen, meet Donovan and Arista! What an interesting element to add to the story...just what are their intentions? Where the hell is Harry? Why is Draco so angry? Can you tell I'm having lots of fun?

I adore all of you equally, and a whole lot. Without you, I'd never have motivation to work on this story. The more reviews I get, the happier I am! See you guys next chapter, where we get to see why Draco is so upset, and Harry comes back into the story!

-SachiNyoko-


	10. More Arguments, Less Tempers

"Draco, you're hurting me." Usagi's voice came out as a low whine, which she hadn't entirely intended, but the tone caused her sibling to finally stop. His fingers slackened around her wrist, and the blonde girl instantly withdrew her arm to her chest. The frightful look in her eyes made Draco flinch, because he knew it was the same look she gave their father all the time.

"I'm sorry." If Draco had expected an easy acceptance to these two words, he certainly didn't get it. Something snapped in the shining blue eyes of his sister, and he almost wanted to back away from her. Almost.

"You're sorry? Draco, I don't even know what's going on with you lately. You're acting completely different, and for some reason you've taken interest in what I'm doing, who I'm talking to--" Usagi's rants threw Draco off at first, but he quickly became indignant. Frowning deeply, he chanced to interrupt the hysterical girl.

"Maybe that's because you've suddenly decided to ignore all the rules Father has set for you. Maybe it's the fact you're being all friendly with Potter and his stupid friends." It was apparent that Draco had quite a bit more to say, but Usagi chose the moment to jump in and cut off his tirade.

"Oh shove off! You didn't talk to me for six whole years, Draco! We live in the same house, go to the same school, and see each other every day, but you didn't say anything to me for six years. That hurt me a lot, you know, and if that makes me some weird, emotional twit then so be it. Then, when I try to find someone else to be friends with, you decide to jump in and prevent that from ever happening. I don't get you!" The blonde girl wanted to shiver under the look that Draco gave her. His appearance took on every aspect of her Father's so much that she could've sworn it was Lucius Malfoy standing in front of her. As quickly as it came, the look faded.

"Look, Usagi, that guy Donovan is a creep. When it comes to nasty Slytherins, he's probably the nastiest, and for some reason he has a grudge against me. The girl Arista, from this morning, is pretty much his sidekick. They've probably seen us together before, so I'm betting his plan was to use you to get to me." Draco spoke lowly, and by the time he finished, Usagi had hung her head. Her bangs effectively covered her face, but the pale hands clenching her robes were trembling.

"I'm sorry." Usagi let out a strangled noise, her voice breaking through with the sobs she was trying to contain. Shoving herself away from the wall, she turned, and ran. Draco simply watched, finding the sight of his sister's retreating back a painfully familiar sight.

* * *

Usagi certainly had no idea where she was going, but she knew that the luck of her finding the halls empty was not going to last very long. Finally, she stopped, resting her hand against the scratchy stone surface of the wall at her side. The tears wouldn't stop, no matter what she tried, and she didn't know why. 

She felt like such a prat, bawling at every little thing lately, but some part of her felt like she'd betrayed Draco. He'd been looking out for her the whole time, and she'd accused him of so much. The things she vented, she knew, really hurt Draco even though he wouldn't show it. Even worse, they were things that'd been beyond his control, things he never did on purpose. At the moment, she was the lowest of lows, even beyond Donovan who only wanted to use her.

"Usagi?" As she looked up, her eyes seemed to blur even further. There stood, in his entire boy who lived glory, Harry Potter, but this time the blonde was happy to see him. For a split second, she considered what she was about to do to be obnoxious, but the other half of that second she spent realizing she didn't care. Her arms latched around the boy's middle, because of all the people she'd met recently, Usagi was sure that Harry really did not want to hurt her.

"Harry, I--I messed up really bad." The desperation, the high pitched wavering in her voice hurt her own ears, yet she couldn't control it. The raven-haired teenager gulped, looking around frantically.

In all honesty, when it came to girls he was rather awkward. Before he came to Hogwarts, he'd never even spoken to a girl his age, mostly because he was an outcast at his muggle school due to his oversized clothing. But now, he had one very hysterical and very pretty, he reddened at this, girl attached to him.

"Um..." Harry glanced around again, and to his left found a helpful factor. The two of them were on the seventh-floor, and coincidently, right next to The Room of Requirement. Hesitant, Harry placed an arm around Usagi's shoulders and pulled her toward the door to the magical room, which had just materialized. "Come on."

He pulled the door open, and Usagi obediently followed him, though her tears hadn't slowed in the slightest. Harry unconsciously took a breath wondering what solution the room was going to offer him. He instantly deflated, as the only thing in the room was a single, two-seater couch. Resisting the urge to curse, he coaxed Usagi into sitting down before he sat next to her.

And then he felt all his words flutter away. He stared at his hands in a sort of stupefied awe, and seen Usagi cover her face with her hands in his peripheral vision. Flexing his fingers, he tried to clear his throat, but it was completely stuck. Part of him knew, though, that Usagi was desperate.

A week or so ago, the blonde girl didn't even want to speak to him or befriend him in any way. If she was seeking him out now, Harry knew she must really have no one else to talk to, and this was his chance to be there for her. Determined, he coughed, and thought up what he should say.

"What happened?" For a fleeting moment, he thought Usagi might become even more hysterical, because she started to cough rather violently. Eventually, she wiped at her face with her robes, sniffling.

"I said some really horrible things to Dra—err...to my brother. He was just trying to protect me the whole time, and now I feel horrible. Then I find out this Donovan guy just wanted to use me, and never wanted to be my friend at all. I think that I must really be an evil person. I don't think I deserve friends." Usagi spoke so quiet, Harry wasn't sure if it even qualified as a whisper.

"Hold on a minute, start from the beginning." He said, placing his hand on the pigtailed girl's arm awkwardly. She nodded, and explained about her run in with Arista that morning, and everything that had happened since then.

"I accused Draco of abandoning me, which I know is really unfair, because it's not his fault. He couldn't protect me from...well, he just couldn't protect me. I've always understood, I don't blame him for it at all, but I made it sound like I did." Harry nodded, mildly understanding. Honestly, he couldn't really sympathize on feeling bad for saying mean things to Malfoy, but he didn't want to admit it at the moment.

Sometime during her story, Usagi had rested her head against Harry's shoulder without really noticing. He probably hadn't either, she reasoned, or he would've protested by now. Eyes drooping, she realized all of her emotions had left her completely drained.

"Thank you, Harry, for listening. You're the only person that would've." As she said this, she yawned widely, submitting to her heavy eyelids. To her very own surprise, it took only moments for her to slip into dreamland, leaving poor Harry in another perplexing situation. He couldn't help but chuckle as the small girl began snoring lightly. Moments later, the boy who lived found himself drifting off to sleep as well, his head rested awkwardly on his shoulder. As fate would have it, he'd be waking up to a very stiff neck.

* * *

Harry wasn't the first to rise from slumber, however. Usagi sat up, her eyes still half closed, and vaguely felt an arm fall limply from her shoulders. Sleepily, she rubbed her eyes and blinked them awake. The room around her was not her expected dorm, or even the hospital wing. What exactly happened before she fell asleep? 

The memory of the arm around her shoulders came back, mostly because it was now gripping her waist rather snugly. A sharp glance to her right made an unpleasant noise rise up in her throat. It resembled a scream, only slightly more dreadful. There sat Harry, reminding her of her little episode, and sending her into frenzy. He slept on, despite her near-scream.

Slowly regaining calm, she tugged his arm from her waist and stood. Her eyes scrutinized his sleeping form, with glasses slightly askew and robes disheveled. He almost looked...in two seconds, she was out the door and sprinting down the hall, where she turned a corner and nearly collided with Hermione. The brown-eyed girl looked abashed, before she regained composure.

"Usagi, I've been looking for Harry everywhere. Have you seen him? He's been missing in all of his classes today." She said anxiously. Usagi flushed, shaking her head no with great enthusiasm.

Before Hermione could further interrogate, Usagi sputtered, "Sorry, I'm terribly late meeting someone. If I see Harry, I'll tell him you're looking for him!" And with that, the girl had sprinted onward, leaving a ruffled brunette in her dust. The pigtailed girl didn't stop though, until she'd gotten outside and settled into her spot by the lake, hidden by the foliage. When I say settled, I mean on her hands and knees gasping for air.

'_Oh Usagi, you've really outdone yourself this time. Might as well jump from the Astronomy Tower and save everyone the trouble, especially Father._' Usagi sat back on her legs, and cradled her head in her hands, breathing as slow and steady as possible. She hadn't the strength or motivation to cry, but subconsciously she started humming, perhaps to drown out the screaming in her head.

"Usagi?" As the blonde looked up, she got the sudden urge to fall off a cliff. Wasn't fate having fun with her lately? Draco looked down at his sister, calm, but somewhat apprehensive. Without warning, Usagi pounced on her brother, enveloping him in a tight hug.

"Draco, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean it. I know you didn't abandon me." She said breathlessly.

"Hey, you have a death grip you know. I'm not mad." Usagi released her twin, looking up at him skeptically. He was smiling, rather dully; she tilted her head in confusion. He looked almost preoccupied. "Anyway, you were just upset, it's no big deal."

"Okay, well...I'm glad you understand. I'm going to...go catch up on my work." Usagi spoke slowly, still staring at Draco strangely. Something about him was very off, she knew, but there was no way of knowing...unless, "See you later, Draco."

Unconsciously, she shivered as her brother waved back with a smile. It was with great determination she walked back up to the Hogwarts castle, knowing exactly where she was headed.

---------------

DUN DUN DUN! -dramatic music- I practically have the next two scenes written. Why not include them? I dunno...I'm just not feeling the love for this story. Considering the alerts, hits, and favorites for this story, the amount of reviews is drab to say the least. Therefore you get a short chapter and an evil cliffhanger. Take that. My revenge!

There's lots of action this chapter, to make up for it though. Harry's definitely back. Apparently, Draco is acting unlike himself, and Usagi's got an idea of why. Is she right? Do you know?

I've figured it out. My muse is a vampire, who only comes out in the dead of night and gives me these wild ideas. If I slacken in my planned updates, it's all because of my new puppy, who is an attention addict. I dunno if I'll be able to shower without him throwing a fit, but he'll just have to deal. Anyway, review!

♥SachiNyoko♥


	11. Her Malfoy side, and the Letter

Quietly, a solitary figure paced back and forth across the hard floors of the room. The dim study was lit only by candles, drably decorated with a desk, a bookcase, and two pouf armchairs with a coffee table between them. The two long windows were shrouded by crushed velvet, of a rich green color. The pacing figure paused, scrutinizing the only object in the room yet to be described.

A round, reflective sphere sat upon its metal pedestal, mirroring the owner's frowning face. As he eased himself into one of the pouf chairs, a small, transparent person appeared above the sphere, watching him in return.

"Lucius, you haven't called on me in a while. What's the occasion?" Her paleorange eyes danced around the room, looking for a second party. The blonde man rested his hands in his lap, not taking his eyes off of the tiny woman.

"I believe the danger of the prophecy is drawing closer." He said calmly, though the ruffled look in his eyes suggested that he'd been agitated over this for quite some time. Hands clenching in his lap, he waited for a response.

"Why don't you tell the Dark Lord, then?" The woman drawled, looking quite bored. Lucius looked momentarily upset, before his cool demeanor returned.

"I've spoken with him several times, he tires of hearing it. He doesn't take Serenity's words seriously." He bit out, obviously having a hard time masking his frustrations. The small woman smirked, throwing her long, reddish-brown hair over her shoulder.

"What do you want _me_ to do, Lucius?" She inquired, her orange-hued eyes twinkling with amusement. If Lucius could've strangled the tiny person before him, he might've done it, but he simply clenched his teeth and went on.

"Just talk to the Dark Lord, he'll listen to you, he cares for you." The woman's twinkling eyes darkened, a flame-worthy orange as she sneered. Her light, twinkling voice grew dark and cold.

"The Dark Lord cares for no one, Lucius, and it's better if you learn that now. You are a fool not to recognize what has been placed in front of your face. You're intelligent enough to take Serenity's words seriously, but you aren't wise enough to understand them.

"I'll speak with Tom, but you should keep a close eye on that daughter of yours. After all, she wasn't meant to belong to you, and she will have no trouble turning on you once she learns the truth." The woman sent another dark look at the blonde man before waving her arm and disappearing.

* * *

(A/N: Van and Ari are nicknames that **Nercia Genisis** came up with, and that I stole with her permission.) 

"Usagi Serenity Malfoy, seventh year, and actually the twin sister of Draco Malfoy; I seen her in the hallway earlier with Harry Potter, crying on his shoulder, so apparently they're good friends as well. She's the only Malfoy that's ever been in the Gryffindor.

"As far as I can tell, she's been the official shadow of the school the whole time she's been here. Considering her family, it's probably been on her Father's orders. Other Gryffindors say they haven't seen her until this year, when she started hanging out with Potter." Arista flipped her brunette hair over her shoulder airily, smirking with satisfaction.

"I'm impressed, as usual, Ari." Donovan nodded, acknowledging his partner's talent. His midnight blue eyes traveled lazily over Advanced Potions homework, knowing that Snape would not let any Slytherin get away with not completing an assignment. "Only problem is where to go from here."

"Donovan!" The raven-haired boy jumped in his seat, looking up at the approaching girl wide-eyed. At this moment, it was easy to see that Usagi Serenity Malfoy had inherited the Malfoy intimidation and knew how to use it quite well. Her wand was drawn, and as soon as she reached the two of them, she pointed it right between his dark blue eyes. "What did you do to my brother?"

"What are you--?" Before he could finish the sentence, Usagi cast a silence spell over him. The petite blonde was absolutely infuriated, and he had to admit, even Arista wasn't this scary when she was PMSing.

"I don't want to hear it, just tell me what you did." She snapped, reversing the spell and waiting rather impatiently for his response. Not being one to be stepped on, Donovan rose to his feet so he towered over the Gryffindor girl and pulled his own wand.

"I didn't do anything to your royal highness of a brother." He bit off, glaring as dark and Slytherin-like as he could. Usagi didn't flinch, nor back down; her eyes didn't even flicker to his wand. She stared into his eyes alone, trying to determine whether he was lying or not. Donovan faltered from her confidence, but scarcely showed it.

"Fine," still glaring, she tucked her wand away, "but you will lead me to his room."

"Wha--" Once again, Usagi drew her wand, and in the blink of an eye had silenced Donovan again. Arista, tired of this spectacle, drew her wand, but Usagi disarmed her easily, catching the brunette's wand from midair and giving her a nasty sneer.

"I'm not sure how well you know my family, but I'm quite good at magic and I know a few nasty curses that won't be traceable. Something is up with my brother, and I _will_ find out what it is. Is that clear?" Donovan looked down into Usagi's icy blue eyes, not seeing the timid, quiet Gryffindor he thought she was. She was all Malfoy, with a glare and attitude worthy of a Slytherin. Slowly, he nodded, and she lifted the silencing spell once more.

"Um...this way," The blue-eyed girl followed after the Slytherin boy, sharing haughty glares with the green-eyed girl at his side. Usagi tossed Arista her wand back, almost as if to say, '_I dare you_.'

* * *

Usagi grumbled quietly, flipping through Draco's school books concurrently. She had a vague idea of what she was looking for, but no idea where her twin would place such a thing. Growling in frustration, she turned the Advanced Potions book upside down and shook it. To her surprise and relief, an envelope flutter out of the pages and landed on the stone floor of her brother's dorm. 

'_Draco_' is all it said on the front, in her Father's recognizably neat cursive. Tucking the letter in her robes, she made sure to check for a second letter before she turned towards the open doorway where Donovan and Arista still stood.

"Thank you both, you've been a great help." She smiled sweetly, still twirling her wand in her fingers. Flicking the wooden object, the room returned to its previous state, erasing all traces that she'd been there.

"You're not welcome." Arista sneered, her hand clenched on her wand so tight that her fingers were turning a weird purple color from lack of circulation. Usagi eyed the hand for a moment, before looking back at Donovan.

"I trust you'll remember this. Stay away from me, please, and if you do anything unsavory to my brother...well...it won't be the best moment of your life I assure." The pigtailed girl walked calmly from the room, passing between them as she left, and descended into the Slytherin common room. The eyes of many a Slytherin were staring her down, but she didn't flinch, waving her wand around carelessly.

"_Protego!_" She shouted suddenly, pointed her wand towards an oncoming hex. The spell rebounded, hitting none other than Pansy Parkinson right in the face. The pug-nosed girl dropped her wand, screeching loudly and covered her face. The skin she hadn't covered was raw and red. Usagi sneered at the observing Slytherins before exiting the area, and once the entrance had closed, she set off at a run towards her own common room.

Jumping the spiral steps two at a time, she collapsed on her four-poster laughing madly. All her nervous energy came out at once, and she couldn't stop laughing for several straight moments. Once she regained control of herself, she took a few deep breaths, and rolled onto her back.

The corner of the envelope she'd snatched was poking out of her pocket, she grabbed it and pulled. Suddenly overtaken with apprehension, she slowly pulled the letter from its sheath and unfolded the thick, formal parchment her Father used equally among business associates and his own children. Her eyes abruptly became watery, so she blinked them fiercely to clear her vision and read the letter.

_Draco,_

_Your sister sent me a letter earlier regarding her relations with Harry Potter, and so I am entrusting you to make sure they don't fulfill the prophecy we discussed before school started. I am confident Usagi will entrust you with hers and Potter's relationship, and you must dissuade her from seeing him further at all costs. You know the penalty if this is unaccomplished._

_As it is, the Dark Lord has hand-selected you for a very important task. His advisors have been persuading him of the ridiculousness involved with going after Potter himself, and finally he has seen to reason. Next to Snape, you are the closest alliance to Potter, and since Snape is already under heavy suspicion it seems more sensible to go with you._

_You are to capture Potter on New Year's and bring him outside Hogwarts grounds to Hogsmeade station. There will be two unspecified Death Eaters waiting to pick you and him up. If you succeed in this task, you will receive great reward for your loyalty. I know you'll make me proud, son. The matter with Usagi can be attended to later, just make sure her and Potter stay at a safe distance until the appointed time._

_Your Father,_

_Lucius Malfoy_

Slowly, Usagi's trembling fingers lowered the letter to her lap. There were unnoticed tears passing down her face, but her whole form was shaking, and she barely noticed. Carefully she tucked the letter away, and placed it under her mattress. Her blue eyes were hollow as she stared at the concrete floor under her tattered shoes.

Her eyes glanced out the window, subconsciously to the twins' favorite spot, and seen the familiar silhouette standing at the edge of the water. He'd known for weeks, he had to. He didn't say anything to her. With no control over her own actions, she realized she was on her feet. It took seconds to dart from the dormitory, down the staircase, and out towards the grounds.

Behind her, she thought she heard someone shout her name, she didn't care. Her short, lithe legs propelled her forward, half-way to the lake she seen Draco turning towards her. His eyes widened, she reached him, and collapsed at his feet.

"Draco--" Her lungs hadn't quite caught up with her yet. She wanted to hug him, and she wanted to punch him one good time in the jaw, and she wanted to ask him why. Finally, her voice came back. "Draco, you can't! Please!"

"Usagi, what are you--?" He bent down, Usagi was currently hysterical, but she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him as tightly as she could. Her whole body was shaking.

"Draco, please don't do it. You can't, please, please." She couldn't make much sense of her own words, but she knew that Draco understood. He lowered his head to her shoulder, but still didn't hug her back.

"I love you, Draco. Father doesn't...he doesn't love either of us. Even if you...even if you do it, he still won't. The Dark Lord will kill you without blinking if he wants. I want you to stay with me, Draco. You promised me once, remember? Please, please don't do it. I won't talk to Harry anymore; we can run away, just...just..." Convinced she was hyperventilating Usagi stopped talking, and continued to sob on her brother's robes.

Slowly, his arms returned the hug, as he whispered, "They'll find us. Even if we ran, they'd find us. There's nothing either of us can do."

"We can fight. I'll fight." Usagi whispered back, now deathly quiet. The two talked back and forth for at least an hour, until the sun had completely set over the grounds. They left for their common rooms, Usagi provoking a slight smile from her brother when she told him about what happened between her Pansy Parkinson. The rest of the night, for the blonde Gryffindor, was spent staring at the ceiling, thinking.

* * *

Well, well, I should probably duck now to avoid the barrage of flying objects. Anyone else love Usagi's intimidating, Malfoy attitude? It's all fun and games until you mess with Draco, as I say. After reading the 6th book I thought I should include the Dumbledore thing, but then realized it'd be much more fitting for the story if I made it Harry instead. If you haven't finished the book yet...um...sorry. -.-; 

I am working on Oniisan! I just am delaying because the new volume comes out August and Akito is going to reveal his connection to the curse. That should be the next thing updated though. I shouldn't find that information valuable until the chapter after.

Once again the amount of reviews...well, lets just say there are 44 people with this story on their favorites, and 25 alerts. Something is up with you people! Drop a line, say "Hey, I'm still digging the story." or _something_.

**READ THIS! **Well, if you don't have the motivation to review, or even if you do, I'd like one small favor. -puffs up- Go read _Into Nightmare Realm _by the wonderful author **Kiruchi**. It really is a well-written and creative story which is much underappreciated at the moment. If you don't have time right this second, bookmark it for later, because it really is worth the read! Thank you!

♥SachiNyoko♥

"Mr. Moony presents his compliments to Professor Snape, and begs him to keep his abnormally large nose out of other people's business."

"Mr. Prongs agrees with Mr. Moony, and would like to add that Professor Snape is an ugly git."

"Mr. Padfoot would like to register his astonishment that an idiot like that ever became a professor." (Prisoner of Azkaban, The Marauder's Map about Snape)


	12. Malfoy side? Perhaps not

It didn't occur to Usagi until the following morning, sleep equaled energy to function the whole of the day. Dragging through her regular morning routine, she finally entered the Great Hall and fell into her usual seat at the Gryffindor table. Even as she stared into her eggs, now sopping in runny egg yolk from her fork prodding, she couldn't get thoughts of Draco and her Father out of her head.

Other things plagued her thoughts as fiercely, such as the true loyalties of Professor Snape. Was he a spy or double agent? She knew Draco wasn't the only student of Hogwarts that might be associated with the Dark Lord, so she tried to discern likely suspects. At first, Arista and Donovan came to mind, but in the end she decided they were just really snobby school children, hardly worth her worry at the moment.

Still, the force she'd used against them the previous day had shocked even her, because through her life she'd never been able to use the power and intimidation her Father used, and even Draco to some extent. Even so, her magical abilities were in no way inferior to any student in Hogwarts, except _perhaps_ Harry Potter.

This she severely doubted, because though the boy who lived contained a certain amount of magical talent and heaps of raw skill, she pinned a lot of his triumphs on sheer dumb luck. Not saying the raven haired boy wasn't powerful, but she'd trained her skills in different forms of magic since she'd started schooling in Hogwarts.

Truthfully, when she'd received the terrible news that she'd been placed in Gryffindor, she knew she would have to find a way to impress her Father, to be accepted again. She felt differently now, but at the time she resolved to become the most powerful witch in her class. Going through spell books in the Hogwarts library, she learned hex after hex until she thought her brain could take no more.

Then, she started pulling books from the library at her family's estate. Books never even opened, placed there for show because her family was rich and therefore had a reputation to uphold. The spells she learned grew more advanced, until finally she chanced snagging a book from her Father's study. As she guessed, he didn't suspect a thing, and didn't even notice the book's absence.

As time wore on, she started trading out books with ones from the library, so there wouldn't be empty spaces on his shelves. Along this expedition, she packed in all the research she could about legends of the moon. Why it interested her, she wasn't entirely sure, but she knew something rang familiar about all those old stories.

The Queen of the White Moon Kingdom was named Serenity, and her middle name also happened to be Serenity. The third piece to this odd puzzle was, the woman in the prophecy she'd viewed in her Father's study, who held the title Serenity as well. How were they connected? Troubling as that was, she wouldn't forget the words her Lunarian Magic professor offered her the one afternoon after class.

'_People who can use Lunarian Magic without their wands have Lunarian blood in them. I figure you did since the moment you walked in the classroom on your first day, and I was right,_' Well, she said something along those lines anyway, and the point of it of course was, she had Lunarian blood in her. As far as she knew, Narcissa, her mother, descended from the Black family and didn't have a drop of anything close to Lunarian blood in her. Lucius, well, no need to even contemplate there. So how did she end up part Lunarian?

Her theory, of course, was that she was the child of Serenity, the woman of the prophecy, and Tom Riddle, who was more commonly known as Voldemort now. Somehow, Tom found a way to transfuse her into the womb of Narcissa, while she was pregnant with Draco so it wouldn't be too suspicious. If this was true, then the blood of Narcissa Black and Lucius Malfoy also made up part of her.

Head literally throbbing, Usagi rose at the sound of first bell and walked her way swiftly towards Lunarian Magic. Her mind still swam over thoughts of Serenity, wondering, if possible, could she really be the Queen of the White Moon? Perhaps reincarnated, if that was possible? If Serenity was, and she was her child, then that would make her a--

"Princess, lovely, won't you join me?" Surprisingly, Usagi found herself to be wide awake and wary at the familiar voice. She turned with her wand at the ready, but the other person was much too quick, or just prepared. "_Expelliarmus!_"

As the blonde girl's wand went sailing through the air, the offender flicked his wand, sending cords from the tip that twirled around her mouth, wrists, and ankles. The larger person picked her up, albeit with some difficulty, but the blonde was probably underweight from her sparse eating habits anyway. He pulled her into an abandoned classroom, one that not even students dared to hide in for make out sessions.

Usagi's blue eyes became hard as she glared up at the two people in front of her, and at once she realized she'd taken the duo too lightly. The boy stepped forward, pulling the cords around her mouth loose. "Why, look what we have here, Ari. Little miss Malfoy who thinks she can push around whoever she chooses."

"We should put her in her place, Van." Arista sneered in reply, glaring down at blonde Gryffindor girl.

"You're both filthy cowards," Usagi bit off, trying to loosen her hands from their bindings. She grunted in pain as a foot connected with her ribcage, and glared up at the rather ugly face of Pansy Parkinson. The pug-nosed wench grinned evilly, before bringing her foot up into Usagi's gut.

"You stupid bitch, thinking you could get away with marring my wonderful face." Pansy sneered, making her oddly shaped nose look even worse. Usagi snorted, though winded from the kick in the stomach.

"Whose mirror have you been looking in, you ugly whore? I don't know if you've heard but I'm Draco's sister, and any increment of chance you had of dating him just died." Once again, the words seemed to fly from Usagi's mouth without her consent. The Malfoy in her was rising up full force, and Pansy staggered back.

"Shut up, we're here to show who is better than whom." Arista snapped, ceasing the argument and the glare down taking place. "We need to put Malfoy in her place."

"If you were anywhere close to being better than me, I'd be standing with my wand, doing a proper duel. As usual, you Slytherin slime have to choose the underhanded, spineless way of doing things." After she said it, she got the urge to spit on Donovan's shoes, but suppressed it. The blue-eyed boy pulled her to his level, and slapped her across the face with a satisfying snap before dropping her to her knees again.

Usagi growled lightly under her breath, pure rage stirring in her as she worked at her binds. They refused to budge. Donovan breathed in and said sharply, "You'll hold your tongue, wench. Now, shall we start with you little lesson?"

He raised his wand, twirling it thoughtfully, before saying, "_Serpensortia!_" As the snake exploded from the tip of the Slytherin boy's wand, a twisted smirk appeared on Usagi's lips that would make anyone believe she'd lost it. The long, thick snake reared back, hissing angrily as it approached her.

Before it curled to strike her, she lifted her head, eyes blazing and cried, "_Ssstop! You're disspute is not with me, calm yoursself._" The room grew deathly quiet, as the snake lowered its head in what resembled a bow. Donovan's eyes looked like they might bulge from his head. "_If you would, kindly, take a bite out of that imbecile with the dark hair. Oh, and the sseverely ugly girl on his right, too._"

The snake nodded, as well as a serpent can, and traced quickly across the floor towards the shocked Slytherin. The reptile sunk his fangs into Donovan's ankle, causing Arista to let out a high pitched scream. The snake quickly turned its head, and bit into Pansy next. A faint hiss from the blonde haired girl sent the snake back to her side, and the creature gently bit through the ropes that held her.

"I try and try to warn you people, it's not a good idea to mess with me. You see what it got you? That hole looks kind of bad; did you summon a poisonous snake by any chance? Better head to Madam Pomfrey." Usagi grabbed her wand from Donovan's hand, and when one approaches you with an angry snake on their shoulder, you don't tend to protest.

Usagi followed the bumbling group into the hall, watching in amusement as Arista helped Donovan limp away. Pansy stumbled behind them, whining the whole way. As she turned to walk the other way, determined not to be too late for class, the snake rubbed against her cheek. "_Misstresss, it would be my honor to sserve you._"

"_I'm ssure it would, ssnake friend, but you aren't allowed here at Hogwartss. I can releasse you into the Forbidden Foresst, if you like._" So, completely forgetting about her school obligations and her class with Professor Des, she traipsed out to the grounds of Hogwarts. Avoiding the Care of Magical Creatures class Hagrid was teaching, she headed towards the Whomping Willow and that end of the forest borders.

After she bid goodbye to the snake, she heard the bell signaling the end of first class. Without the snake on her shoulder, she readjusted her bag and walked back up to the castle.

* * *

"Hey Usagi!" The blonde turned, offering a smile to Harry as he ran up beside her. "Why weren't you in first class? Professor Des told me to tell you you've missed your private lessons. She wanted to talk to you. You're at least lucky we only reviewed today. Hey, what happened to your face?" 

Usagi touched at her cheek, the sore spot where Donovan had struck her earlier, and figured it was bruising. She shrugged him off, entering the Great Hall to a flurry of chatter, above the usual norm. When the Hall laid eyes on her in the doorway, they went silent. Arching an eyebrow, she walked towards her seat as though unfazed and sat down for lunch, Harry following.

"Did you see Donovan and Pansy? They were delirious, from snake venom." She heard someone whisper, and she gulped. Arista the Mouth must've spread the news faster than wildfire.

"Yeah, screaming about the Malfoy girl apparently. Saying she spoke _Parseltongue_. Saying she made the snake attack them." Another kid whispered back. Finally fed up, Usagi slammed both palms against the table and stood.

"If you're going to talk about me behind my back then try to be discreet about it, you cowards!" She screamed, sending pointed glares at the two Ravenclaws that'd just been talking. They shrunk visibly in their seats and started eating their meals silently. Before Usagi sat back down, Professor Dumbledore rose from his seat at the head table.

"Miss Malfoy, may I have a short word with you?" He asked pleasantly. With a short sigh, and a nod, Usagi followed the elderly man from the Great Hall, out through the staff exit and into an empty corridor. "Madam Pomfrey told me that the two Slytherin students came into the infirmary with snake bites on their ankles. They claim you spoke Parseltongue, is this true?"

"Of course not," Usagi snapped, with some irritation. "The baboons tied me up and had the idea they were going to teach me a lesson. They tried to use the snake summoning charm, but the snake turned on them instead. The venom must've made them delirious if they thought I spoke to the thing. As for Arista, she hates my guts anyway and probably went along with it so I'd look bad."

"I see," Albus said, looking surprised at her thorough answer. As he met gazes with her, she blinked then sneered and turned on her heel.

"Don't even try to get into my head, _Professor_. I won't be used like Harry." And with that, Usagi marched off, returning to the Great Hall to chat with said boy who lived. Albus observed her retreating form, his blue eyes twinkling with something that was definitely not merriment.

'_I wonder...she's never acted on her Malfoy heritage before. Or is it Tom's attributes that are finally showing themselves?_' with a heavy mind, the headmaster returned to his own seat in the Hall, but didn't touch his lunch any further.

* * *

Oh my, such revelations! Usagi can speak Parseltongue, are you surprised? Of course you are; don't be silly. If you've yet to figure it out, because I write so sporadically it's hard to find the plot, Usagi has four different bloodline in her: Lunarian from Serenity, her biological mother, Tom Riddle, her biological father, Lucius Malfoy, her adaptive father, and Narcissa Black, the woman she was born to. 

So she picked up certain traits from each of them, Tom's Parseltongue, Serenity's Lunarian magic, and a strong prowess for wizardry from the prominent Black and Malfoy families. Daresay she's a powerful witch. More activity from Donovan and Arista, will they_ dare _try something else? I doubt it.

TwoSailor Moon characters have shown themselves, one disguised as Professor Des, and another that you should find for yourself. That aside, the reviews were great for last chapter, you guys really inspire me! Keep 'em coming! If you break me for 200 I swear the next chapter will be the longest yet.

♥SachiNyoko♥


	13. Backlash and the Discussion

Usagi bent over the porcelain sink in the girls' bathroom, her mind reeling. Something was definitely wrong with her, she knew. The things flying from her mouth came without her consent, and things she wouldn't even say. She'd snapped at the headmaster, for Merlin's sake!

Being angry with nasty Slytherins was one thing, Donovan and Arista deserved what they got, though she may have been a little harsh on Pansy, but the girl had kicked her in the stomach and it still ached. Her Parseltongue secret had been compromised, and that wasn't exactly good, she'd never planned on anyone learning of that secret. Considering that had been the second snake she'd ever talked to, it hadn't been a successful cover-up at all.

Usagi's eyes traveled over the pallid face in the mirror, before she dove for the toilet and dumped her lunch. Falling back, she leaned against the wall and panted for several minutes. She could feel her magic stirring, something was definitely happening to her and she didn't like it, her mood swings least of all. Placing her palms flat against the stone floor, she moved to push herself to her feet, but before she knew it, she was bent over the toilet vomiting up who knows what.

Shakily, Usagi stood with the resolute decision to visit Madam Pomfrey. Not entirely fond of seeking medical attention, she liked the mediwitch well enough and knew that the woman wouldn't indulge her condition to just anyone. Plus, she never asked many questions, and that would work to the blonde's favor if nothing else.

The halls were empty, she knew because class was in session and that's where she _should_ be, but she hadn't been up to it. Even before she'd felt the waves of nausea. She couldn't get her hands to stop shaking, and her head ache had been terrible. What ever happened between her and Professor Dumbledore, she couldn't be sure, but for a moment she felt outside her own body.

The elderly headmaster tried to probe her thoughts, she knew now, but she shouldn't have had any inkling. Sure, she'd read about Occlumens and Legilimens in her Father's text books, but no matter how she'd tried she couldn't even manage a brief glimpse into anyone's mind. She'd tried on Draco countless times, but no matter how frustrated or focused she became, she couldn't pry into his thoughts. So what exactly had happened there?

Finally reaching the Hospital Wing, Usagi pushed the door open and looked around. The beds were empty, which meant Donovan and Pansy had been healed and sent on their ways. For that she was grateful. Madam Pomfrey appeared from her office, and it only took one look at the pale, trembling girl to send her into warp speed.

"Good gracious, child!" The woman exclaimed. She rushed the blonde to the nearest bed, forcing her to lie down before rushing to her medicine storage cabinet. As she bustled with her keys, intent on unlocking the cupboard, she asked, "What's wrong with you? What symptoms are you having?"

"Headache, vomiting, dizziness, and my magic's been acting strange." Usagi informed wearily, suddenly aware of the sleep she'd neglected the previous night. Pomfrey finally got the cabinet open, and she read through several labels before picking out an amber hued potion and locking the cabinet back. The mediwitch pulled the cork from the potion bottle, grabbing a flask from a nearby counter and filling it full. She brought it to the blue eyed girl's lips.

"There now, drink it all. This potion doesn't taste too bad now, don't give me that face. Good, good, do you need a sleeping draught?" The blonde girl almost laughed, but she didn't have the strength. Simply shaking her head negative, she burrowed into the pillow and welcomed sleep with widely open arms.

**xXx**

When she opened her eyes groggily, several hours later, she hadn't been expecting a visitor. Harry Potter's green eyes looked down at her, offering a smile, before he said, "I heard you hurled your lunch and came to the Hospital Wing."

"That's one way to put it." Usagi groaned, her throat burning slightly. Madam Pomfrey came over, graciously offering her a glass of water, which she guzzled down greedily. Afterwards, she smacked her lips together and handed the empty glass back, avoiding eyes with both of them. She fell back into her pillows, still tired, still wanting sleep; definitely not anticipating conversation with Harry at the moment.

The Hospital Wing door opened again, and a familiar blonde walked in. He paused, connecting gazes with Harry, and sneered at him. Then, as if the Gryffindor boy wasn't even sitting there, he walked past him and up to his sister. "You okay?"

"Peachy keen," she replied, a light smile on her face. Draco nodded, satisfied, and waited for a few moments. Realizing he wasn't needed, he simply turned, and left, sending a second glare at Harry before he closed the door behind him. Madam Pomfrey came over, another flask of amber liquid in her hand, and Usagi forced it down before saying, "I'm going back to sleep."

Harry took the hint, standing from the chair at her bedside and leaving. The blonde smiled lightly into her pillow, before sleep overtook her once more.

She woke again in the juvenile hours of the morning, her head much clearer than the previous day. The mediwitch wasn't around to force her to stay in bed, so she quickly swung her legs to the floor and sprinted out into Hogwarts' halls. She found the darkness creepy, in all honesty, but somehow she found her way to the kitchens, and tickled the pear to gain entrance.

At her request, the house elves whipped her up a modest meal. Though starved, she didn't want to eat too much in case her stomach wasn't done in its revolt. She munched on the Shepard's pie, her taste buds rejoicing accordingly at finally being nourished with something other than a bitter potion. When the time for breakfast rolled around she found she wasn't very hungry, but she slinked off to the Great Hall anyway.

Meanwhile, Harry had just finished preparing for the day and was making his way down to the Great Hall when something extraordinarily unexpected happened. A person came at his side, shoving him into the wall, and Harry wished he hadn't been walking so close to it.

When he met his rivals haughty blue eyes, the surprise grew. Glaring, the raven haired boy reached for his wand but Draco whipped his out and pressed it into the Gryffindor's throat. "Look, Potter, I've put up with this long enough. You need to back off my sister. I don't know what your deal is, but you're creating a lot of shit that she shouldn't have to deal with."

With a sudden, huge shove, Harry threw Draco backwards and pulled his wand. They turned towards each other, both wands trained. Draco sneered, just as Harry glared, before the boy who lived spat, "It's none of your business who she wants to be friends with."

"If she wanted to be your friend, it'd be different. You think she doesn't tell me things? I know she didn't want to be your friend willingly." The blonde Slytherin was upset, and Harry had to admit, this went beyond their usual feuds.

"She didn't because she was scared of you and your goddamned father!" He yelled back, sure he was equally upset. The two boys shared looks of pure loathing.

"If you like her enough you'll stay away from her. It's not like you can protect her from anything she's going to face." The blonde spat, his pale face flushed with anger. He'd had the inclination to hex Harry then and there, but held back. He thought, perhaps if he got it through the stupid Gryffindor's head that he was just getting in the way, _maybe_ it would be more effective.

"Oh, and like you're doing a grand job of it yourself," Draco was quickly losing his theory to the burning desire to blast Harry into oblivion, "Where were you when she was being attacked by those two Slytherins? Or when she was getting the shit beat out of her by those Gryffindor kids."

A tense moment of silence passed, where Harry realized he said something very wrong. Usagi would never forgive him. Draco actually dropped his wand arm to his side--his teeth ground against each other as he met gazes with Harry again. "What did you just say?"

Too late to turn back now, he reasoned, "In her first year, some Gryffindor kids beat her up pretty bad. They did again this year, and I caught them at it."

"What did you do?" The Slytherin boy asked sharply, his knuckles white around his wand. Harry hesitated.

"Well," he began, but that's all the confirmation that Draco needed. He turned; the suit of armor behind him being the unfortunate target of his rage and he kicked the metal suit over. The resounding clang made Harry jump, and a passing ghost looked down at him indignantly.

"_Fuck!_" Harry winced, watching the blonde boy stomp off towards the Great Hall, and quickly trailed after him. After Draco burst into the Great Hall, his following went by pretty much unnoticed, because the blue eyed boy was already at his sister's side, pulling on the wide-eyed girl's arm.

"Come on, I need to talk to you." He said, and Usagi at least had to give him credit for not jerking her out of her seat. She stood up accordingly, and followed him out, sending a confused glance at Harry as they passed. He looked apologetic, and she winced; this couldn't be good.

When they stopped, a ways away from the Great Hall, Draco didn't turn immediately. He stood silently, trying to calm himself, because he knew there was no reason to yell at Usagi for this. Except, perhaps, the fact she hadn't told him. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"About what," Usagi inquired, really having no inkling what her brother meant. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to either, because Draco didn't hesitate in elaborating.

"About those Gryffindor kids putting their filthy fucking hands on you." The pigtailed girl felt her stomach drop down to her feet; she swallowed as her brother turned around towards her, obviously angry. Seeing nothing else to do, she let her arms drop limply to her sides and spoke quite slowly and evenly.

"I didn't tell you because we weren't speaking at the time. What could I have done? I couldn't walk up to you and say, 'Hey, these kids are beating the shit out of me, maybe you could help?' Try to see it from my point of view." Usagi tilted her head to the side as she watched Draco's expression. A fleeting flash of guilt touched his features, before a frown overtook it. "Anyway, it's too late to worry about that. The Gryffindors don't give me any problems anymore. Guess who fixed that one? Yeah, that's right, Harry."

"Don't even," Draco said irritably, pocketing his wand.

"I won't. I'm tired of arguing with you, Draco. Promise me you won't antagonize Harry. He's really helped me out a lot, and we're all going to have to get along if you and I are going to figure out this mess with Father." Usagi waited, but Draco didn't say anything, so she assumed he relented. "There's something important I need to talk to you about, could you skip classes with me today?"

"Sure."

**xXx**

The two siblings decided it would be best to skip outside of the castle, where teachers wouldn't be roaming around, and more importantly, Filch. They settled in on the far side of the lake, where it'd be nearly impossible to see them from any angle. Usagi didn't leave the silence hanging long before she launched into her conversation.

"Draco, do you remember when we were little, and you dared me to go into Father's study? You remember the crystal ball thing he keeps in there, that he got mad at me for touching?" She asked, waiting patiently for Draco's affirmative. He appeared pensive for a moment, his brow scrunched up in concentration, before the memory came to him.

"Yes, I remember you telling me it was some sort of Prophecy," he confirmed. Usagi nodded, hesitated, and then went on.

"Well, I never told you what the Prophecy _was_. Draco, don't take this the wrong way, but I don't think we're really brother and sister." At the look he gave her, she continued, "I mean, we do share the same blood but--"

"Usagi, what are you talking about? We were both born seconds apart, from the same woman. How could we not be siblings?" Draco reasoned, his eyebrow arched. Usagi took a deep breath.

"I know that, and I know this sounds crazy, but just listen to me. When I looked into that ball, I saw Lord Voldemort and this woman with lavender hair. She had this hairstyle," the blonde paused, pointing to her twin buns, "and the same color eyes as me. She was pregnant too, and Voldemort was putting some sort of spell on her. When I got there, she was begging him _not to take her child_. I think the baby was hers and Lord Voldemort's. At the end of the vision, the woman was dead, and the baby was gone."

"Wait a second," Draco interrupted, "You're saying this child was the descendant of Lord Voldemort and this woman. That's impossible; Lord Voldemort never had any offspring."

"I'm not finished. Draco, that baby was me. Voldemort dug up some ancient, old magic and he put me, still unborn, into Mom's womb while she was pregnant with you. Right before the woman, whose name was _Serenity_, died she gave the prophecy. She said, '_If the serpent and the lion ever unite, you will fall._'" Usagi stopped, and looked to Draco to see how he was taking it. He looked slightly dazed, as he pondered, and finally spoke.

"So you think you're really the daughter of Lord Voldemort, and this woman, Serenity? How could you possibly know?"

"Well, for one, my middle name is Serenity and two, I'm a Parseltongue," her face flushed, but she didn't pause long enough for Draco to interrupt again, "and the other day, I think...I think someone took over my mind. I think it was, well, Voldemort."

Draco's face, pale enough as it was, lost all color. Implying it was one thing, but actually stating that you're the heir of the darkest wizard of all time, "Usagi, you've got to be mistaken. Parseltongue is a rare trait, I'll give you that, but people have it outside of Slytherin and Voldemort's lineage. Plus, your name, I mean you know Mom is in to all the Moon Legends. She probably just likes the name."

"Oh come off it, Usagi Serenity isn't even an English name. Mom isn't into the Moon Legends, I am, and she just said that so Father would buy more books about it for me to read. Plus, in my Lunarian Magic class the Professor is Lunarian, and she told me only people with Lunarian blood can use their magic without a wand. And I can, Draco! Neither the Malfoys or the Blacks are descended from Lunarians." The urgency in Usagi's voice was clear. She desperately wanted someone to believe her; she wanted_ Draco_ to believe her.

"How do you know they aren't descended from Lunarians?" Draco asked skeptically. He did want to believe his sister, but it was like being told Voldemort donates to charity. It's hard to buy into something like that.

"You know Father would've mentioned it, the race is practically gone." The blonde replied with much exasperation. Draco looked strained for several moments as if he were trying to put a jigsaw puzzle together in his mind, but all the pieces didn't fit quite right. Finally, he sighed.

"Okay, so say all this is true and you are Lord Voldemort's heir. What then?" Usagi beamed and hugged him briefly before she launched into the next part of her whole fiasco.

"Then we jump back to the Prophecy, that Serenity gave in her last moments. She told Voldemort that the baby would never serve him, and said, '_If the serpent and the lion ever unite, you will fall._' Well, I think the lion and the serpent are me and Harry. Harry is the lion and I'm the serpent. That's why I've been forbidden all contact with him, because Father didn't want the Prophecy to be fulfilled."

"I guess it makes sense," Draco said slowly, though he obviously wasn't completely convinced. Or maybe he just didn't want Harry involved in any of this.

"Right, so we have to tell him." Usagi nodded.

"Wait tell him what? Tell who?" Draco asked, jumping as though startled. His sister gave him a look that clearly said, 'Are you dumb?'

"_Harry_. We have to tell Harry about the Prophecy and everything." She elaborated.

"Do we have to? I mean really, how much help can that prat really be?" Draco asked, and watched in awe how dark the girl's expression went as the words left his mouth. Her lips pursed into a straight line, and she spoke through gritted teeth.

"If you haven't realized, our very lives are on the line here. This is beyond Father and his dumb rules, this is up to Voldemort. He expects you to deliver Harry in a hand basket or he's going to _kill_ you, so we have to do something. Put aside your stupid schoolboy rivalry and concentrate on saving yourself!" The Slytherin boy nodded, and didn't say anything further as they walked back up to the castle for lunch, and more importantly, to find Harry.

**xXx**

As I said in Oniisan, sorry for the hiatus, and sorry beyond that for the bad direction this story has been going in. I've revealed a few plot details, hopeful you aren't so upset with Usagi's character now, I'm not trying to make her Mary Sue-ish. I've been changing her moods according to the new magic she's taking on, and of course Voldemort's had some hand in it.

Soon, we'll find who Professor Desdemona really is...and who knows what else. I need an aspirin. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, I must get back to my rigorous studying. Ugh.

♥SachiNyoko♥


	14. I Still Love You

When Usagi ascended the stairs into Hogwarts, Draco on her heels and still looking rather annoyed, she had the intent of finding Harry. Of course, she could have never expected who actually greeted her there in the near empty Entrance Hall. As she met their cold, hard blue eyes with her own softer ones, she froze completely, making Draco run into the back of her. He was about to yell at her for stopping so abruptly when he caught sight of why she paused in the first place, and he stood stock-still staring at the person warily.

"Well, I see the two of you were skipping. Such bad children, as always, you never follow the rules," Usagi shivered, and her eyes dropped closed. The apprehension shown clearly on her tense, taut features as she thought to herself and her hands shook where they were tucked behind her back. '_This is it. I can't just back down now. I made a resolve, a promise; it's time to fulfill it._'

"Father," Usagi's eyes slid open once more, no longer full of the fear she felt. Though her hands still trembled, she clamped them on the sides of her robes and bowed to the taller man as he considered her, "Whatever brings you here to Hogwarts? Surely not such a trivial matter as Harry Potter and I would draw you here so unceremoniously?"

"Do not spite me. You know your place. You know the consequences, the greater ones of your actions. Tell me, Usagi, do you really wish death on me?" Lucius Malfoy walked briskly across the stone floor until he stood just before the two. The cool, collected, calculating demeanor he held told Usagi all she needed to know. This was a test. This was an assessment of her loyalty, if it still existed, to him.

"Of course not, Father. I love you. My friendship with one boy wouldn't affect it." The blonde girl bowed her head with respect as she spoke, but her heart panged painfully with the statement. It was true. She did love Lucius Malfoy no matter what, because he was her father and he had raised her. After the lingering silence, she raised her head high and looked him square in the face, full of determination.

"I really do love you. I don't want you to die, but I don't agree with anything you've done. I don't agree with the way you've treated us or your legion with Voldemort or with what you've asked of Draco. Very soon the tables are going to turn. As long as you stand with Voldemort, we will be enemies." Her hand found Draco's, her voice cracked with emotions, and tears fell freely from her eyes. "You won't control me anymore, and I won't let you or Voldemort control Draco. But I still love you. I still love you."

Lucius Malfoy, for once, looked relatively stunned. Usagi didn't waste a moment, pulling on Draco's hand, and dragging the both of them into the Great Hall, where Lucius surely wouldn't follow. A sigh of relief left her, and she hastily wiped at her eyes. Before Draco walked off toward the Slytherin table, Usagi leaned over and muttered, "Meet me in the library after dinner. We'll talk to Harry there, okay? Hopefully Father will be gone by then."

The silver blonde Slytherin nodded, albeit reluctantly, and continued toward his house table. She watched him go for a moment, and then retreated to the Gryffindor table and found the seat next to Harry. He looked over at her, and though he looked like he was about to say something, Usagi had no qualms in cutting him off, "You don't have to apologize. Just come with me to the library after dinner. There's something I have to talk to you about."

"Okay," Harry replied, looking slightly confused. The pigtailed girl smiled halfheartedly before turning to her plate and helping herself to lunch. They both listened to Ron and Hermione converse back and forth, getting into mild arguments along the way, before the black haired boy turned back toward her, "How come you weren't in any classes this morning?"

"Oh. Well, I guess I was skipping," Usagi shrugged, neglecting to tell him about her long drawn out conversation with Draco. "It's no big deal." She tilted her head toward theduo bickering across from them."They like each other a lot, huh?"

Both Ron and Hermione froze at her statement, which surprised her, because she thought they were too caught up arguing to notice. They flushed equal shades of red, and Ron's ears went a color much darker than his hair. At this spectacle, Harry actually starting laughing. This brought something of a grin to Usagi's face for a moment, before she too started to laugh. "I assume that means yes?"

"As if I would like this insufferable--" Harry started laughing even harder, if possible, and even Usagi appeared to be enjoying herself. The two had started speaking at the exact same time, saying an identical phrase. They didn't say anything else for the rest of the lunch hour, and even after Harry stopped laughing he had a grin on his face while he ate.

**xXx**

"I don't see why you're so surprised Lucius," the silver blonde man stopped pacing his study, which he'd been doing for the past twenty minutes. Ever since he'd gotten back from Hogwarts he hadn't been able to sit still. His mind was too busy to allow it. Pale blue eyes shifted over to the familiar transparent woman who hovered over the prophecy sphere he kept in his study. She sat down, crossing one leg over the other and flipping her long reddish-brown hair over her shoulder, a force of habit. Amusement played in her orange-hued eyes as she looked at him.

"Beryl," Lucius said, snappily, falling into his own chair and resting his head against his hand. "Why do you think you know what's going on?"

"Oh, dearest Lucius, it's quite simple. I recall giving you a very specific warning not too long ago. Don't you remember, I told you your daughter would have no problem turning on you once she learned the truth?" The woman, Beryl, cooed. She tilted her head, her expression somewhat triumphant and somewhat questioning. "She has learned the truth, now, hasn't she? She knows you aren't her real father, and so she has denounced you."

"On the contrary, Beryl," Lucius retorted, his teeth clenched with agitation. Beryl paused accordingly, listening to his words with a curious demeanor. "She claims she loves me. She rejects Voldemort and everything this family stands for, but yet Usagi still claims to love me."

"Lunarians," Beryl scoffed, rolling her orange eyes toward the ceiling. "They've always been too sentimental for their own good. That's what brought the end of Serenity, her _love_ for Tom Riddle. The girl is making the same mistake. What about the boy?"

"Draco said nothing. He seems to be with her, though. I'm not sure, but I think they're planning to defy Voldemort." Lucius stared at the wall opposite him, his mind far away as he contemplated his two children. The things Beryl said barely registered in his mind. He'd expected Usagi to be loyal. He equally expected her to completely break away from him. Hell, he'd feared it ever since she'd been born.

But, to say she still loved him? After everything, all the torment he'd put her through, the ostracizing, the coldness, she still loved him as a father. The little blonde girl had found a middle ground between the two things he expected. Usagi always represented a puzzle to him, since she'd been born, and the more he tried to put it together, the more pieces appeared. "--talked to Tom about the prophecy."

"What?" Lucius asked, sitting up straight in his chair once more. Beryl gave him a ruffled look, partly a glare.

"I said, I talked to Tom about the stupid prophecy. He says there is nothing to fear, he's absolutely sure it won't come true, and the girl's affiliation with Harry Potter puts nothing at risk." She said, the annoyance reverberating through her tone at every word. The blonde man tilted his head, brow furrowed with confusion as he pondered the news.

"But if Usagi and Harry Potter have nothing to do with the prophecy, then who are the lion and the snake really?" Lucius asked. Beryl, as though anticipating the question, grinned in such a way that suggested she knew something he didn't.

"Now, now. If I gave that away, Lucius, where would the fun be? I say let the issue with your children be. If they defy Tom, he will punish them accordingly, and if you interfere he will punish you doubly." The tiny woman stood, her transparent self disappearing once more, leaving the silence of the study behind her and the prophecy stone that glittered in the flickering light of the candles.

Lucius let his mind wander back to his daughter. Yes, as the child grew she showed no signs of her multiple heritages. Her personality was subdued, but quietly caring. She never showed her magic potential, until he began training both of them for schooling. While Draco tried to show off, she did precisely what was told, nothing more, nothing less. She didn't have an air that even hinted at her being a Malfoy, or a Black, and certainly nothing like Voldemort.

The only person she reflected at all was her real mother, Serenity, but that was only in her kindness. Serenity was a regal, independent woman who stood up for herself, who fought tooth and nail for what she believed in. She ever let anything or anyone control her, and Usagi could hardly say the same.

Frowning, Lucius stood and began pacing again, wondering what he would do about all of it when the time came.

**xXx**

"He really is insufferable," Beryl, fully human sized and non-transparent, lounged in the chair she was seated upon and tossed a look over at the man she called Tom, while everyone else called him Lord Voldemort. Voldemort didn't turn; his thoughts were occupied with something else entirely.

"Forget about Lucius. I'm more intrigued with Usagi Serenity. She's a Parseltongue, you know. She gets that from me," something of a sadistic grin overcame his serpent-like face as he twirled his wand between his fingers. "Her darker magic has finally started to show itself. I've waited seventeen long years for the brat to show her promise."

"Still not worried about Serenity's prophecy, I see? I wish you'd tell me what it really meant so I could be as confident. Serenity may have been foolish in some aspects, but she was a powerful woman." Beryl twisted a lock of her hair around her finger, observing Voldemort's back with much attention.

"If you knew who the snake and the lion really were, you wouldn't be worried either. Serenity was a fool, nothing more. If she'd only agreed with me she wouldn't have met the fate she had. If she was smart, she would've at least pretended to be my ally and tried to escape with her daughter later. No, Serenity had too much pride, and it ultimately destroyed her." He scoffed at the memory of the lavender haired woman.

"What an inspiring speech, my Lord," Beryl sneered behind his back, rolling her orange eyes toward the ceiling. '_If you haven't noticed, Tom, you have more pride than Serenity did. In a way, I hope that girl does fulfill the prophecy, whatever it is, and defeats you._'

"That's not a very nice thought, Beryl," Voldemort turned, his lips still curved in a malicious smile.

"Well I've never been too nice of a person. You should probably stay out of my head, if you know what's good for you." Beryl's smile was cold, her eyes narrowed and wary as she looked Voldemort square in his eyes. "I have been successful so far in killing off the last of the Lunarian race, and I'm only here because one of the surviving few happens to be your darling daughter. Let's not forget who took down Serenity one millennia ago, along with her little Moon Kingdom. Remember who is more powerful among us, Tom."

"Of course, Beryl," Voldemort responded, his smile equally cold.

**xXx**

"Usagi," The blonde stopped before she exited the classroom, frozen with apprehension as the quick footsteps came up behind her. She turned to face Professor Des, guilt prominent in her features. "You're to stay here with me instead of going to your other classes. I've spoken with Dumbledore and your professors, and they've agreed it's in your best interests."

"What? Why?" Usagi questioned, somewhat bewildered as her professor pulled her back across the room. Her black hair swayed as she walked briskly across the stone floor, pulling the curtains on her windows. The room darkened substantially, only candle light illuminating the space. Walking across to the other side, Professor Des raised her hand before her and muttered something. Light shot from her hand and surrounded the door, leaving a glowing line around the edges. She repeated this spell on each of the windows before she turned back to Usagi.

"No one can listen in on us now. I had planned on explaining during our 'lessons,' but you haven't showed to any of them. No need to apologize, I can understand why," Usagi closed her mouth as soon as she'd opened it to speak, "You know of the prophecy already, am I right? You know the truth about your parents?"

Caught of guard, Usagi's mouth dropped open, this time in shock. She considered the serious face of the woman in front of her for a few moments, before she finally answered. "Yes, I do know, but how do you?"

"First of all, you need to know that my name is not Idola Desdemona. That was the name of a friend I once knew, but she's dead now. Most of the Lunarians are dead, and not simply because their lineage has died out. I came to Hogwarts not only to find you, but for protection as well. My real name is Luna." She stopped speaking abruptly, closing her eyes.

Her expression changed to one of concentration, and a shining golden crescent moon appeared on her forehead. Before Usagi's wide, disbelieving eyes, the woman before her morphed from the raven haired, silver-blue eyed Idola Desdemona to a violet haired woman named Luna. When she opened her eyes, they glinted like rubies in the candle light. The thing that intrigued Usagi most, besides the still present crescent moon, was the partial buns on either side of her head, where her wavy purplish hair flowed down from.

"I..." The pigtailed girl struggled with her words, while Luna tilted her head, waiting for her to continue. Something in her red eyes looked hopeful, almost. Swallowing, Usagi tried to speak again, "I remember you."

**xXx**

I know I really am evil to leave it here. Forgive me. Whoever though Professor Desdemona was actually Luna, kudos to you for figuring that out! Most people guessed Setsuna, and I think a few thought it might've been Chibiusa. Whoever thought the tiny, transparent woman Lucius spoke to before was Beryl, well, kudos to you too double time. All of the chapters in this story have been relatively short, I now realize.

This chapter may be a bit boring. Mostly plot detail that has to be done, but hopefully you're even more confused now. It's my mission in life to keep you guessing. No one has guessed correctly on the prophecy yet, either. Can you figure out who the lion and the serpent really are, and what Usagi has to do with it? Hmm, it's mygoal to finish this story before the end of summer! Because after that I'll be extremely busy again. This is my bum summer.

Visit my livejournal; the link is on my profile. :D You can get an _exclusive_ peek at my new multi-crossover, available nowhere else! (laughs) Plus hear about my other story stuff, and about me in general. Aren't you interested? x3 I promise I'll update soon, as long as you review! Thank you to everyone who reviewed chapter 13, next time I'll be able to do review replies, but I must continue on writing the next chapter before my muse runs away.

♥SachiNyoko♥


	15. The Lunarian Protection Agency

**IMPORTANT NOTE: **_Earlier in the story, I said the characters Donovan and Arista were loosely, by looks only, based on Makoto and Mamoru. Well, due to the recent turn of events I've taken in the story, I'm going to have to ask you to disregard that. They're now simply original characters, nothing more. Forgive me, but at the time I didn't expect to be bringing the other senshi into the story._

**xXx**

"I remember you," Usagi said again, almost not believing her own words. Luna's eyes widened a bit, before her face broke into a bright, happy smile. "From when I was little, I remember meeting you once."

"At Diagon Alley, yes. You were lost from your father and brother, and I took you back to them," Luna nodded, her smile still in place. "You see, your mother Serenity and I were very close friends. I have watched over you as best I could, in her place. But we must save that talk for later, there is something very urgent I have to address. That is, of course, your paternal father, Voldemort."

"What do you mean? About the kidnapping Harry thing, you mean?" Usagi asked, following Luna with her eyes as she paced back and forth. The woman shook her head, her wavy hair swaying frantically with the motion.

"No, I fear something that directly affects us as Lunarians. Voldemort has teamed up with a woman by the name of Beryl, whose single goal is to destroy the Lunarian race once and for all. Lunarians have gone into hiding all across the globe in fear for their safety, because the line was scarce already, and now there are barely any left alive. A few thousand at the most, I'd wager."

"Wait a minute. A woman named Beryl? My mother's name was Serenity. All of this is exactly like the legends. The evil Queen Beryl attacked and wiped out the Lunarian race, but Queen Serenity wished on her holy crystal for them to be reborn in the future." Usagi stopped, uneasy under the look that Luna gave her. The ruby eyed woman had a very slight smile on her face and a glint in her eye that suggested she knew something important.

"That story isn't a legend. It happened a thousand years ago on the Moon. Now that the Lunarians have returned, so have their ultimate enemy, and this time she has her sights set on planet Earth. She's allied with Voldemort for the moment, because he also wants to see the end of the Lunarians. They pose a very imminent threat for him, as well, because of their strength against Dark magic."

"Okay," Usagi nodded, telling she understood, before continuing, "but what does that have to do with me? I mean, I can't take on some powerful evil woman, I barely even know Lunarian magic."

"Well, you know of the prophecy Serenity gave before her death, you've seen it. There is another prophecy that involves Harry Potter and Voldemort, which I'm not sure the exact details, but it basically says that Harry alone is destined to defeat the Dark Lord. And," Luna took in a sharp breath, looking suddenly uncertain. Of course this piqued Usagi's interest, but she waited patiently for the wavy haired woman to go on. "There is also another prophecy."

"_Another_ prophecy? Well that's a little excessive, don't you think?" Usagi cracked a smile, trying to bring some light back to the grim face before her. Luna did smile back, but the expression didn't last.

"This one was made a long time ago, before you were ever born in the Moon Kingdom. In fact, you were never born back then; the kingdom was destroyed before you were even conceived. I was dear friends with Serenity even then, and she told me that when she was finally crowned as Queen, a man had come to speak to her, and told her of the prophecy." Luna paused, her gaze moving around the room. The apprehension showed on her face as she continued.

"It said, '_Serenity, Queen of the White Moon Kingdom, you will be a glorious and proud leader, but you will harbor a grave enemy. Neither Lunarian nor man will be able to stand up to this evil entity, but a mixture of both, of two different magic. Only the first born of Queen Serenity can stand up to the darkness._' Usagi, _you_ are Serenity's first born, a child both Lunarian and human, who harbors both magic abilities. You are the only one who can defeat Beryl."

"Me?" Usagi slid into a desk, no longer trusting her shaky knees to support her weight. Her face looked pale, almost transparent, as she stared into the wooden surface. "I'm supposed to defeat Beryl? Luna, I can't. I'm not strong and I don't know how to fight. I can't save the world!"

Luna walked slowly over to the desk, her hand delving into the pocket of her robes concurrently. When she stopped in front of Usagi, she placed her free hand on her shoulder to comfort the shaking girl, and pulled her other hand from her pocket. Her fingers were closed tightly around an object, which she sat gently on the desk in front of the blonde, letting the shimmering surface catch the flickers of flame from the candles. Usagi stared down at the jewel, placed perfectly into a heart shaped broach, something warm rising in her heart at the mere sight of it.

"This is the Holy Crystal, the Ginzuishou. Serenity trusted it to me when she suspected Voldemort, Tom Riddle, was planning something. She made me promise that if anything should happen to her," Luna swallowed hard, tears collected in her pretty red eyes, "I would give it to you. You will learn to fight, it is a part of you, and you will not stand alone. There are guardians who will stand at your side, who will fight with you. I would also be honored to protect you, _Princess Serenity_."

Usagi stood from the desk again, throwing her arms around Luna's taller form, and cried into her shoulder. Luna wrapped her arms around the blonde girl, rubbing her back soothingly. Blinking her red eyes slowly, she felt the tears slide from the corners and trace miniature streams over the curve of her cheeks. "There are eight guardians, each a royal descendent of the planets, save Earth. They've been working to protect the remaining Lunarians, waiting for you to come forward."

**xXx**

"There is actually a guardian stationed here in England, the royal Princess of Venus. She has been dying to meet you, and that's where we're going now." Usagi nodded as Luna spoke, holding the heart shaped broach snugly in her lap. Her eyes stayed glued to her knees as she went over everything she'd just learned. Nothing made sense at the moment, but she still tried to comprehend it.

"Ah, here she comes," Luna smiled as her eyes transfixed on a figure past Usagi's shoulder. The pigtailed girl twisted in her chair, leaning to see past the other people seated at the tables of _The Leaky Cauldron_. The two of them had used Floo powder to travel to Diagon Alley, and then went to the pub to meet up with the girl who suddenly became visible amidst the crowd of people.

They could've been twins, was the first thing that came to Usagi's mind when she met gazes with the blonde girl. If it weren't for the separate hairstyles, her pigtails and the red bow the other girl wore. A wide, excited grin spread across her face, not unlike a child's on Christmas, and she rushed across the room to their table. Once there, she pulled Usagi out of her chair and gave her a bone crushing hug.

"You must be Usagi! I've waited forever to meet you, I even wanted to come to Hogwarts with Luna but I had to stay here. I'm Minako, chief of the England LPA and also one of your guardians," the other girl, 'Minako,' pulled away with her bright smile still in place. Usagi looked a bit uneasy, but she smiled back anyway and breathed a bit easier when she returned to her chair and Minako sat down in the free one at her side.

"Um, LPA?" Usagi asked uncertainly, tilting her head with confusion. Minako giggled and sent a pointed glance at Luna before she responded.

"I'm surprised Luna didn't tell you already. LPA stands for Lunarian Protection Agency, it an antonym." She explained. The ruby eyed woman rolled her eyes.

"You mean acronym. I didn't tell her because LPA is something you made up. We don't really call it that," Luna directed the last sentence at Usagi, who nodded her understanding and smiled at the look the two sent each other.

"Sorry I'm late, Diana was holding me up," they all turned their heads to look at the male who spoke. He smiled, his blue eyes showing amusement as he took the available seat between Luna and Minako. Usagi marveled at the beautiful, long white hair that fell over his shoulders, and blushed modestly when he caught her staring, "She wanted to come meet the Princess, too. I'm assuming you must be Usagi."

"Yes," the pigtailed girl confirmed. She noted the subdued, somewhat shy look that Luna kept sending at this newcomer, and wondered what their relationship might be. He reached his arm across the table, and Usagi caught on quickly, sliding her smaller hand in his to shake.

"I'm Artemis. It's a pleasure to finally meet you. You've brought all of us hope," Usagi blushed once more under his sincere gaze and turned her eyes the other way.

"Thank you, but I haven't done anything. I don't even know if I can." She responded quietly. Her heart wrenched at the thought, people counting on her to do something so great when she barely knew how to fight. Subconsciously, her fingers brushed over the broach sitting in her pocket, and it gave her a bit of comfort.

"Hey, you can do it. I know you can." Usagi followed Minako's hand, which had rested on her forearm, up to her face. There was a gentle, kind smile fixed on her lips. With another smile, she said, "Besides, I'll be there with you and I'm pretty much unbeatable."

Usagi chuckled. They shared light conversation for a while, until the pigtailed teenager asked if she could visit LPA headquarters (Minako grinned triumphantly and Luna rolled her eyes with exasperation) to meet some of her fellow Lunarians. There were no objections, so the group stood from their table and filed out of _The Leaky Cauldron_. They headed back to the Floo network in relative silence.

**xXx**

"You see, there are eight different sectors of LPA, and each are presided over by one of the Princesses. We're really strong," Minako boasted, grinning over at her fellow blonde. Their arms were linked together as they rode down the elevator to the underground facilities that the Lunarians lived in. Artemis had explained them a little while ago, but most of it went over her head.

"You'll meet them all soon enough. Now that you're back, all the Lunarians will reunite again to help you fight. You see, you don't have to do anything alone, so don't worry too much, okay?" Usagi nodded, as Minako sent her a sideways glance. Satisfied, she steered the pigtailed girl out of the elevator, into a brightly lit room full of...food? "This is the grocery section, where the families come to get their food supplies. Everything is taken care of down here; none of the Lunarians go up to the surface."

"Serenity," They turned attentions on the woman who stood with an arm full of groceries. Her eyes were wide, fixed on Usagi, and they suddenly filled with tears. The pigtailed girl looked panicked as the woman dropped her groceries and grabbed onto her hands, bowing. "No, Princess. It's wonderful to see you."

"Um, thank you," Usagi replied, not sure what else to say. As the lady went on her way, she breathed a sigh of relief, but it didn't last long. Nearly everyone she passed did the same, or stared at her, or something similar. Finally, seeing the bundle of nerves the poor girl had become, Minako led her up to a more secluded floor and toward a door with her name printed on it.

"Mama! Papa!" Usagi blinked as the blur passed through the now open door, by her, and latched around Luna's waist. The girl was young, probably around six years old, with silvery hair pulled up in buns much like her own, only without streamers coming down. Her large, sparkling eyes were the identical shade of Luna's. She turned them toward Usagi, smiling brightly. "You must be the Princess. I'm so excited to meet you."

The little girl hugged Usagi next, and with equal enthusiasm. Luna smiled, pulling her back to her side. "Usagi, this is Diana, my daughter." The blonde absorbed the information, looking over at Artemis. That had to make him the father.

"So, Usagi. Soon you'll meet the other guardians." Minako beckoned her over and pointed to a picture on her desk, a group of women, one of them being her. "These are all the guardians. That's Rei; she heads the division in Japan. Makoto, the brunette, she heads the French department. Michiru and Haruka, these two, they both head divisions in America. Setsuna, the one on the far right, is in Italy. Ami, the blue haired one, is in Germany. Finally, Hotaru, the youngest of us, is in New Zealand. Oh, and that's me."

"All these people...are my guardians?" Usagi questioned after a moment's pause, sounding bewildered. Minako nodded, smile lighting up her face.

"Yes. I know this is probably weird for you, but Usagi," the other blonde paused, considering her words, before she finally continued. "You are our hope."

"Ah," Usagi hesitated, once again at a loss for words. Her eyes roved over the clock, and she gasped, "Luna I have to meet Harry and Draco in, about, fifteen minutes in the library. If I'm not there they'll probably kill each other."

"Right. Let's go back." Luna paused, crouching down and pulling the disappointed Diana into her arms. "I'll see you again soon, okay?"

"Okay," Diana said, returning the hug full force. When she pulled away, she walked over to Artemis, grabbing onto his hand. They watched the two go, giving only a short goodbye.

**xXx**

I was going to continue on with the library scene, but I didn't know precisely what would happen after that. I'll be able to go on with the next chapter sooner if I already know where it starts. So you see, the senshi are coming into the story now. I don't have much to say. Except...review?

♥SachiNyoko♥


	16. The Plan

Stumbling from the fire place in Luna's office, Usagi just barely saved herself from meeting the stone floor face first. Straightening, she dusted the soot and ash from her robes before glancing at the clock. She still had a little less than ten minutes to make it across the school, to the library.

Pulling up the hem of her school robes, she set off in a sprint, vaguely waving goodbye to Luna. She noticed that she had taken on her previous appearance of Hogwarts Professor Desdemona in the brief glance she had before she was out the door.

Exactly eleven minutes later, the pigtailed blonde skidded to a halt inside the library doors. She earned an unsavory look from Madam Pince, who was seated at her desk sorting through recently checked-in books. Ignoring the irritable librarian, she placed a hand over her wildly heaving chest and looked around the room.

The first thing she recognized was the messy black hair of Harry Potter; he sat some ways across the room at one of the round tables, facing the opposite direction. Despite her protesting lungs, she dashed across the room and stopped at the table, placing her hands against the surface to support her as she gasped for air. Harry looked up, startled by her sudden appearance, and stood to help the winded girl into a chair.

"Sorry," she breathed, as Harry returned to his own seat, "I was with Lu--Professor Des." Blinking, she looked around the room again, trying to locate her brother.

Harry followed her gaze, perplexed, wondering what she was looking for, until the door to the library swung open again. His long time rival, no less, was the one to walk through, and he sent him the usual sneer before he started walking over. To Harry's utter surprise, he took the seat next to Usagi, across from him. Then, of course, he said nothing.

"What's going on?" Harry finally asked, sending glances between the two siblings. Usagi finally caught her breath, and decided to answer for him, since Draco didn't appear to be saying anything.

"Okay. Well actually, I found a lot more today than what I originally wanted to tell you, so..." The pigtailed girl trailed off, her mind wandering involuntarily. Under the expectant look of both males, however, she quickly recovered. Hesitantly, she delved into the story of the prophecy she'd seen as a child, leaving out more minor details involving Draco and her father. Harry listened attentively, though somewhat confused.

"But I found out some other things today from Professor Desdemona, and I don't think," Usagi paused, sending a tentative glance at Draco before she continued. "I don't think I'm the snake. I'm still positive that you're the lion, Harry, but I don't think I'm the snake."

"Then who is?" Draco questioned, now sporting his own perplexed expression. The nervous glances Usagi kept giving between the two of them didn't sit well with him, and certainly didn't do anything to help matters.

"Well, I'm not sure, of course. But I think...it may be you." Her blue eyes rested on Draco's, and she watched them abruptly fill with shock, then immediately flicker to disbelief. Looking over at Harry, he also appeared skeptical. "It makes the most sense."

"No, it doesn't. The prophecy was made by your mother, so it would have to be about you." Draco protested, sending an unsavory look at the boy across the table. Harry returned the look equally, making Usagi appear even more anxious than before.

"Well, maybe I'm supposed to bring you two together. I mean face it, you two wouldn't be sitting at the same table any other time without blasting each other to death. Which reminds me," the pigtailed girl turned solemn as she looked between them. "You two have to get over your rivalry. At this point, all of our lives are at stake and others beyond that."

"Usagi," Harry started, his face contorting into a scowl. "We can't just suddenly get along. We've been rivals for almost seven years."

"I recall that recently I was forced to get along with you." Usagi snapped, causing Harry to quiet and turn a mild shade of red. "Look, there's not anything devastatingly serious between you, so for the sake of everyone just get along long enough to get through this. Not best friends, just be civil. Okay?"

"Fine," both of them conceded to the desperation in the girl's voice. Usagi heaved a sigh of relief, for she hadn't been sure if they would agree. Then she took a deep breath and turned toward Draco.

"I found out today that Voldemort is working along side a woman named Beryl to destroy all the Lunarians. Further still, there's an underground association that protects the remaining members of the race called the LPA." Usagi spoke in near whisper, looking around the library as though she expected to spot spies peeking around the book shelves.

"So?" Draco inquired. The pigtailed girl sighed, realizing this probably didn't seem very relevant to them.

"So I'm part Lunarian. My biological mother, as I'm told, was Serenity, the Queen of Lunarians. This inadvertently makes me the princess, I guess." Usagi winced, knowing she sounded ridiculous. "Furthermore, they expect me to help save them all."

"You're serious?" Draco asked skeptically. She nodded; her lips pursed together, her face anxious.

"This is what I think we should do. We should leave Hogwarts," at their expressions, she smiled slightly. "We aren't going to learn anything here that's going to help, and I don't think it's best to let Dumbledore or any of the teachers know what's going on. The LPA wants me to go underground and train with them, and I think we should all go."

"We can't just up and leave Hogwarts. People will notice, Voldemort will notice." Harry retorted. His nervousness was apparent as he wiped his sweaty palms on his robes.

"If he doesn't, Father surely will." Draco agreed, though he looked disgusted at the thought of consenting with the raven haired youth. Usagi frowned as she leaned back in her chair. She had been on the edge with anticipation the whole time she spoke.

"Not necessarily. Father won't risk coming back here again. Any mail will be delivered directly to us, and the only Voldemort link in the castle is Snape, right? If we get him to understand the situation, then we could be in the clear. Snape is a double agent, right?" Draco nodded, and Usagi breathed a sigh of relief.

"My, my. What are you children talking about?" All three of them bristled. None of them dared to move, until finally Harry turned in his chair. Usagi followed suit, swiveling all the way around to look behind her. Speak of the devil.

"P-Professor Snape," the pigtailed girl stuttered. The look on the dark haired man's face unnerved her as he fell into the final seat at their round table, between Harry and Draco. "Um, how much did you hear?"

"Enough to know that you three are planning to leave Hogwarts, take refuge in some place called the LPA, and are going to attempt to take down Voldemort." Snape responded.

"It might have been easier to just say you heard everything," Usagi grumbled, mostly to herself. Sighing, she rested her head on the table and closed her eyes. Into the table, she muttered, "So will you help us?"

"Lying to Voldemort is dangerous. What do the three of you think you can do against him that a more competent wizard couldn't? I think your whole plan is ridiculous." Snape answered, his face twisted into a smirk. Harry looked over at the girl's bowed head, concerned, for she seemed to be whispering something to herself. Draco kept his icy blue eyes on the table.

"I didn't ask for any of it!" Usagi jumped to her feet and slammed both palms against the table. She winced at the impact, but it didn't keep her from continuing. "I didn't want to become the messiah for a whole race of people in less than a day but that's what happened. I don't really care what your opinion is either way, Professor, I just want to know whether you'll help or not."

"As I recall, I never said no Miss Malfoy." The blonde girl dropped back into her chair, her face red with embarrassment and anger.

"Okay. So are you guys going to come? This may be the only way we'll survive." A moment of hesitation was all it took for both Harry and Draco to nod. "Good! Good."

Snape took his leave accordingly. Usagi watched him go, and when she turned back to the table, the tears were coming down her face. With a groan, she covered her face with her hands in shame. Draco looked at her with wide eyes for several moments, but as he finally shifted in his chair to reach for her hand, found he'd been beaten to the punch.

The blonde glared darkly at the bespectacled boy, but Harry chose to ignore him as he circled his hands around the pigtailed girl's tiny wrists and pulled her hands down. Meekly she said, "I'm sorry. I'm stupid, I'm sorry."

"What's wrong?"

"I just thought," she wiped her eyes hastily, "I was scared I'd have to do this alone. I mean, they kept telling me about all these people willingly to fight with me but they're total strangers. I'm glad you two are coming."

**xXx**

Ew, this chapter is gross. It's a filler chapter. Next chapter will bring us into these three coming back from this training. No, I'm not dragging this through chapters of training, but I will highlight important events through flashbacks and whatnot. Until then, loves.


	17. Prelude to the End

"It's exactly the same. Nothing has changed." The first of three figures two males and one female between them, spoke these words almost with a touch of comfort. The trio stood in the shadows of the Forbidden Forest and stared out at the grounds of Hogwarts. Twilight settled comfortably all around them, highlighting the absence of another soul in the area.

"Did you really expect it to? It's only been a few months," the annoyance of the other male shown in his tone of voice as spoke, rolling his eyes. They glared at each other over the head of the short girl between them. Frowning, she elbowed them in the ribs to end the exchange. The second turned back to look up at the looming castle. "Is it already Christmas Break?"

"Yes," the girl spoke, nodding. Her hands found theirs at either side of her, and she squeezed them for comfort. "Everything is already in order for us thanks to Luna."

"_Only Draco and Harry go?" Usagi sent the ruby eyed woman a skeptical look as she nodded in confirmation. Her dark hair fell into her eyes, and she pushed the strands behind her ear, giving the younger girl a solemn but apologetic look._

"_I'm afraid so. But don't worry, okay? By then they'll be able to handle one Death Eater with little effort. It can't be helped, Usagi. We're hoping to trigger events that will lead us to Beryl and Voldemort's hideout. If a third is with them, it will alert the receiver and everything could go wrong. We only have one shot at this."_

"_I know," Usagi responded, closing her eyes and reviewing all the things she already knew to be true. "Still, I would feel better going with them."_

_Luna walked over and took Usagi's hand in both of hers, squeezing it gently. "You'll be close."_

"Everyone else is standing by?" The first boy spoke again, in a tone more conversational than inquiring. They all knew the drill; every aspect of the plan had been reiterated many times over in the past several months. Usagi turned her head to look at him. The dim light around them caught his eyes in a way that made them glow like emeralds. She quickly turned away.

"Yes. If we get lucky enough to get through to Voldemort and Beryl, the real battle will begin." Her voice echoed with a solemn quality unusual for her normal attitude. They all turned, tense, as an intrusive thud came from their left. Relief spread through them at the sight of Hagrid thundering from his home to dump the contents of a barrel, Fang the boarhound trailing happily on his heels.

"Even Rei?" The third of their party asked, sounding genuinely curious to her answer. A wry smile curved Usagi's lips as she nodded.

"Yeah, even Pyro."

"_I refuse to serve such a spoiled, whiny brat!"_

"_I'm not spoiled." Usagi stood in the doorway, leaning gently against the frame. Her tone spoke deathly anger, but on the outside she remained poised, settling to glare at the other girl. Luna glanced at the blonde anxiously, but Rei returned the look with passion, her face flushed with anger._

"_Yeah? Prove it. Fight me, Meatball Head." A cocky grin took over her features at the hesitant look that passed over Usagi's face following the sudden proposition. She took a blow at the glimpsed weakness, "Unless you're too scared. I wouldn't blame you."_

"_I will, Pyro." The blonde spat the name and stood straight walking to the middle of the room to stand across from the raven haired beauty. Every part of her stance suggested her determination as she held her wand at the ready. Rei stood empty handed, her slight surprise at being accepted quickly replaced by a confident smile._

_Luna contemplated from the sidelines on whether to end this display of immaturity between the two young women. Yet as her ruby eyes passed between their faces, stony expressions unwavering, she thought it may be more beneficial to everyone to let it be. The two had done nothing but bicker since the moment they met. Maybe this would amend something._

_The fierceness of their eyes convinced the ruby eyed woman that she probably could stop them anyway. They bowed to each other, tentatively, and began._

"_Mars Flame Sniper!" Rei made the first move, a plethora of flames bursting from her hands and dancing across the space between them at an alarming speed. Yet Usagi cast a _Protego_ charm long before the heat even touched her skin. She sent a hex flying before the flames dispelled completely. The trick failed, Rei dodged but narrowly._

"The fight lasted almost an hour. We were both laid up in the infirmary for a few days, but she never called me spoiled again." Usagi recounted the tale with a whimsical smile on her face. That rivalry, to the day, transformed into a wonderful friendship built on a mutual respect for each other. She sent glances at the two beside her, wishing they would reach the same point. Smiling, she added, "Rei was nothing compared to Haruka though. She refused to teach me anything if I didn't cut my hair."

She laughed then, her hand touching the end of her considerably shorter hair. It still reached her lower back, but she vaguely missed her ankle length tresses. "I don't regret it though, I learned so much from her." Usagi smiled warmly at the memory of the sandy haired woman and her tough love. They fell into a silence, where the short girl observed the expressions over her brother's and Harry's faces.

"It all starts on New Year's." Harry stated, his eyes focused on the rippling surface of the lake, and the distorted reflection of the moon. Usagi nodded.

"We've learned so much though, we're all a lot stronger. Plus, you and Draco can hold a conversation pretty well now, who knew?" The blonde laughed at the grimaces that went over both of their faces. "You think we'll survive?" Usagi questioned softly, her eyes still fixed in the distance.

"Yes." Draco was the one to reply, short and confident. "We've all been training hard. As long as we work together, we'll be fine."

"Who would've thought we'd see the day that Draco Malfoy would encourage teamwork." His sister smiled up at him, laughter in her blue eyes as he shot her an annoyed look. "Anyway, we may as well go inside. It's getting cold."

"Yeah," they both answered, together.

**xXx**

"Happy Christmas," Usagi glanced over her shoulder, but unnecessarily. The voice sounded much too familiar to not be instantly recognized. She looked out over the dark grounds, her eyes unconsciously falling on a spot in the distance. Shivering, she pulled the lapels of her coat tighter and passed it off as the bite of winter's chill.

Harry finally reached the bottom step and stood at her side, his eyes also finding the location that unsettled the blonde so much. Softly, she said, "It's hard to believe. In just six days..."

Usagi trailed off, suddenly realizing her conflicting emotions and wiping the tear that escaped her eye. The raven haired youth pulled her close, and she leaned into him, letting the safety of it surround her. She felt calmed.

The moment didn't last. A sharp clearing of a throat from the top of the stairs had the couple leaping apart, looking up at the menacing silhouette of one Draco Malfoy. "It's time for breakfast."

"Awful cold, isn't it?" Usagi replied nonchalantly as she climbed the stairs, passing him airily. He didn't miss the reticent smile that crossed her face when she glanced at him, and he bristled. Harry ascended slower, refusing to meet the blonde's hard glare. The trio filed into the Great Hall, Usagi leading, Draco behind. Most of the students weren't present due to the holiday, both those that were gave them strange looks as they took seats aside each other.

"Pass me the eggs."

"Don't be rude." Usagi passed the dish of scrambled eggs to her sibling after scooping some onto her plate. She reached for a piece of toast, but the buttery delight danced just out of her reach. Harry reached over her and placed it in her eager fingers, earning a cheerful smile. "Thanks Harry."

"No problem." They continued the meal in silence, paying no mind to the skepticism of their classmates. So much had happened. Usagi nibbled on her toast as she wondered over the progression between the three of them over the months they were away. No matter the antics, the plots, she couldn't bridge the fathomless canyon that rested between the two completely.

Her eyes traveled down the table, the single table in the Great Hall due to the multitude of students at home for the holidays. Harry's familiars Ron and Hermione were obviously absent or they would've accosted the dark haired boy by now to ask where he had been. Even Draco's usual cronies fled home to be with their families. Usagi pondered on what they had done without her brother to constantly follow around these past months.

"What are you smiling at?" Draco asked, startling the blonde back to reality. The mirth of her thoughts must have translated to her facial expression, she realized, for both her companions were looking at her strangely.

"Crabbe and Goyle. I'm sure they've been missing you so much, you being their wise and powerful leader." Usagi giggled and Harry shoved a bite of toast in his mouth, trying to hide his own snort of laughter while Draco glared at them.

"Gryffindors," he grumbled, loud enough for them to both hear, but it only served to fuel their laughter. When she finally caught her breath, it was still too soon for her liking, and she wished that the three of them could just stay that way, forever.

**xXx**

"There's somewhere I'd like you to go with me today," Harry moved his gaze over the apprehensive Usagi, her cheeks flushed from the cold, blue eyes pleading with him silently. It was the morning after Christmas, Draco was still asleep, and the two of them had met on the grounds under the blonde girl's request. "Please, Harry. I don't want to go by myself but I really don't think Draco will understand."

"It's nothing to do with your Father, is it?" Harry asked, tense. Usagi appeared shocked for a moment, before she laughed and shook her head.

"No, no, nothing like that! We won't be meeting anyone. I just need some company." Her mirth died as her gaze dropped to her shoes. He could tell just by the way she asked that it was something important to her, something she was reluctant about at least.

"Of course I'll come." Usagi raised her head then, smiling widely at him. Before he could do anything to react, she threw herself forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. Harry stiffened before slowly returning the embrace, his face unbearably red. In their months away from Hogwarts he'd grown increasingly aware how his heart sped at her slightest touch, how her smile warmed him, how her laughter made him want to laugh as well.

Yet with this he began to notice the evil glares that Draco sent him when her back was turned, so he kept his distance well enough. The thought of being murdered in his sleep by an angry Malfoy did not sit well with him. After what felt like forever she pulled away again, and he resisted the urge to grab her and pull her back.

"We're walking off Hogwarts grounds. Luna set up a port key for us for the day." She smiled up at him again and led the way across the castle grounds, her feet sinking slightly in the layer of pristine snow that had fallen the night before. Harry trailed a bit behind her, watching her pensive expression shift with her thoughts and wondered where they were going, or more importantly, why she wanted him along instead of her brother.

On the other side of the protective wards, Usagi located the port key almost instantly; a worn out plush cat with a thin layer of snow covering it. She looked at Harry, and he nodded. They grabbed the toy simultaneously and felt the familiar tug.

A flurry of color later found them both on the ground. Harry stood and helped Usagi to her feet as well. They spent a moment brushing snow from their clothes before Harry looked around. They appeared to be on the outskirts of a small village; all magical by the way the passersby ignored their sudden appearance. He turned back to Usagi, who was glancing around with a sad smile on her face.

"This is where Serenity lived before she died." All of it made sense in that moment, why they were there, why it was so important to Usagi, why she wanted him to come instead of Draco. She began walking into the village, and Harry followed at her side. "While we were staying at LPA, I heard a lot of stories about her. She seemed like such a kind, noble woman."

Harry didn't know how to respond so he opted for silence. Usagi navigated them down the main street, seeming to know where she was going. They passed through to the other side of the village, where Harry finally spotted what he figured must be their destination; the cemetery.

Weaving their way through headstones, they stopped in the back corner, and Usagi squatted down to wipe the snow away, or maybe more to hide the fact that her eyes were tearing up. "I feel so bad for her. She loved Tom Riddle with all of her heart and all he did was use her." She paused, placing her gloved hands flat on the cold slab below her. "I never knew her, but it's still painful, knowing she's dead and I never will."

When she finally rose to her feet, she turned right into Harry's embrace. His arms circled around her, enclosing her in warmth. She buried her face into the crook of his neck and stayed still, content. "There was another reason I wanted you to come today."

"Yeah?" Her soft murmur tickled the skin along his collar bone, and he swallowed. Gently she pulled away from him, and then took both of his hands in hers, smiling.

"Harry, thank you. When all this started, I resented you so much, but," she stopped, her eyes falling to the side. Struggling, she debated her words, and then met his gaze again, "but you've pretty much saved my life."

It happened so suddenly. He ducked his head down and captured her lips with his, and then she couldn't breathe. The world stuck on pause for a moment before she regained her senses, and gently she pulled away from him again. Barely able to take in the expression on his face, she shook her head softly.

"When this is over," Usagi swallowed, her gaze shifting uneasily. "Either one of us could die. I'm not sure how I feel, so when this is over, I'd like to find out. But not now."

"Fair enough," the minutes of silence before his response seemed to infinitely stretch on, but she allowed some relief at his words. The blonde smiled and took Harry's hand, pulling him away from the headstone of Serenity.

"Come on, let's go back."

**xXx**

Oh em gee. I struggled with this chapter for so long. I literally wrote it a sentence at a time. A strange build up to the climax of the story I guess, and I'm not sure how much longer this story will go on, but I will finish it somehow. For now, enjoy this chapter?

SachiNyoko


	18. The End

Dark. It was so damn dark. Usagi narrowed her eyes in a further attempt to penetrate the endless gloom around them, but found it to be of little use. Instead she focused off in the distance, where she knew everything would be going down soon enough. Too soon.

Luna stood at her side with one pale hand place gently on her forearm, whether to assure her or subdue her from running off she scarcely knew. Her ruby eyes also trained forward into the night, rarely wandering back to the blonde's face written with concern. Only moments before she had watched the two most important people in her entire universe walk away, and maybe she did want to run after them. Maybe she would have already if Luna wasn't there.

Somewhere in the darkness around her she knew her guardians were hidden, also waiting. All eyes turned toward the sky waiting for a burst of green sparks. Hoping they wouldn't be red. She'd spent the past few nights wide awake, tossing and turning, getting a few hours of exhausted sleep at most. Thinking of what was to come, of what she'd told Harry in the graveyard just a few days before.

_When this is over._

One of us could be dead, or both of us. It's the thought that moved her forward when Harry turned away to leave with her brother. She pulled him back and kissed him with everything she had. He was surprised but eager while she was unsure. What if she'd been wrong all this time to ignore both of their feelings? What if that short amount of time was the only amount that they would ever have together?

Would she regret it?

She'd pulled away, tentatively glancing toward Draco, but he wasn't angry as she expected. Mildly disgusted and somewhat resigned was how she would describe his expression, but no degree of surprised.

Usagi glanced at Luna again, silently praying that they all survived the night, no matter what else happened.

A blossom of green lit up the moonless sky. It was literally painful, the quickness of her heart as she jumped and sprinted forward. Luna was somewhere behind her, but held no chance of keeping pace with the blonde. Everything flashed past in a distorted blur of time.

"A portkey," Luna nodded at this. It had been an option they heavily considered after Harry had explained Voldemort's use of a portkey during his fourth year. Usagi glanced anxiously over the two of them but neither appeared to be harmed. Her guardians were appearing on all sides as Luna bent to examine the tattered robe that was to be their portkey.

"We're in luck; it will be able to transport all of us." She said finally, as Minako appeared as the last of their party. "Ready?"

_Of course not_, Usagi though, but nodded regardless as she reached for the robe.

A familiar tug behind the navel brought them stumbling to their destination. She knew the instant she opened her eyes something had gone wrong. _They knew_.

She was shoved to the ground as a shower of multicolored lights exploded above. Everything around her was terribly loud; she couldn't regain her bearings to discern what was happening. Until she saw a dark robe from the corner of her eye and raised her arm. The weight that shoved her down had disappeared but she was still sprawled on the ground as she shouted the spell. Her target went down as she jumped to her feet.

There were people everywhere. She could hardly tell ally from enemy, or if some of the fighters on the ground were friend or foe, dead or just disabled. But she suddenly spotted her brother on the other side of the room, still alive. She jetted to the left and hid behind some sort of stone statue, sure she felt the heat of a spell pass close to her skin.

Taking one deep breath to regain her stability, she darted from her hiding place once more. Her fingers brushed the crystal in her pocket as she mumbled a familiar spell. _Quiesco_. The Death Eaters she passed dropped to the ground, unmoving in a coma-like sleep, as she searched out Luna. Finally the mane of wavy dark hair appeared.

"Where's Voldemort and Beryl?" Usagi pressed her back to Luna's and continued disabling every enemy in her sights. She could feel the hum of the crystal's power in her pocket like a soft vibration, the warmth on her forehead where she knew there would be a crescent moon shaped insignia. Though she'd spent the past months training, focusing on her ability to endure using the crystal's power for longer periods of time, she could already feel the exhaustion tugging her down, making her weary.

"There seems to be a passage to the far left, slightly hidden, where Death Eaters are appearing. You should take Harry and slip away as quietly as possible. They'll follow you two if they know. We'll stay here and hold the fort." Luna was already panting with exertion. Time was short. Usagi ducked away, using her petite size as an advantage as she searched out Harry.

She spotted the green eyed youth near the corner that Luna had described and approached. He seemed to sense her coming, for he turned and joined her off to the side. She quickly explained the improvised plan to him. "We should get going."

Harry nodded his agreement and led the way, taking down the single Death Eater that blocked their path before he even knew they were approaching. As the pair slipped into the narrow corridor, a strange sort of silence descended upon them. Usagi's ears still rang with the sounds of the battle. She was a bit disoriented, but willed her feet to keep the path behind Harry and tried to ignore her trembling hands. She couldn't give in to her fear now.

A sudden sound from behind her made her jump, and without hesitating she whirled on her heel, wand hand raised and ready. Her lips parted to utter a spell before she caught sight of a familiar face appearing through the shadows. Relief spread through her instantly, relaxing her muscles, before anger caused them to tense once more.

"Draco, what are you doing?" Usagi hissed at her approaching twin, her blue eyes narrowed in fury. Why would her brother want to follow them right into the jaws of the beast? Draco bridged the distance between them, his own face defiant. Harry had stopped as well and was now standing behind her, so she couldn't see his face.

"I'm coming with you. Don't argue."

"What do you mean don't argue?! You're being ridiculous! You know Harry and I have to do this alone. Go back and fight with the LPA." Though she meant it to sound angry, or full of authority, the tone of her voice was pathetic to her own ears, so she simply added the plea, "Please, Draco."

"Not going to happen. Let's go." Draco was determined. She frowned and opened her mouth to argue when she felt Harry's hand touch her arm. She turned to him and he shook his head.

"If he wants to come then let him. He could help us. Besides, we don't have time to stand here and argue." Usagi stopped, thinking about it, her expression one of misery. She remembered the already tiring Luna and knew that Harry was right. They couldn't waste time.

"Fine, let's go then." The three of them moved on down the corridor. Apprehension ate away at the blonde as she glanced between her two companions and squinted into the dimness ahead of them. Where was everyone? Shouldn't there be some guards by now? An opening ahead made her heart skip a beat, and the trio entered the large room, skidding to a halt.

Silence reigned, penetrated only by the sounds of their breathing as they tried to catch their breath from the jog down the path. Usagi's blue eyes locked ahead, where the form of a tall, slender redhead stood, a malevolent face smiling down at them. Her orange-hued eyes, however, were fixed solely on the single female of the group.

"Princess, I've been expecting you." Her ruby lips curled into a smile as Usagi scowled. "Oh yes, I suspect you don't go by that title. No matter. Once I destroy you, the rest of the Lunarians will fall with little resistance."

Usagi remained silent. She wasn't sure what she should say in this situation, if she should give some sort of speech about justice or goodness. One hand clenched white on her wand, which she had unconsciously raised and fixed on Beryl, and the other was in her pocket, fingers tight around the crystal. She could feel its subtle hum of power vibrating all the way up her arm, as though the object could sense the real battle was near.

"It seems they have both arrived," The dark voice that rang out send a sudden shiver down Usagi's spine; it was pure evil. The pale, ghostly figure of Voldemort stepped up beside Beryl with a sinister grin highlighting his serpent-like features. "But it seems they have some extra baggage in tow. Lucius do tell me what your traitor of a son is doing here."

Lucius Malfoy appeared next to Voldemort before Usagi had time to process that statement. Her mouth dropped open in shock before she could stop herself. She looked toward her brother. Draco was scowling, but he didn't seem surprised. Is this why he had insisted on coming along? Did he suspect their father would be here, waiting for the final battle?

"Draco." The name came out without her really thinking about it. Her brother glanced in her direction, and then sent her a wry smile.

"Don't give me that look. After everything you've said. Father has chosen his side. It's time to end it." Usagi could feel the tears collecting in her eyelashes, blurring the edges of her vision, but she nodded. Draco was right. Lucius had chosen Voldemort over his own children, so this is what it came down to. Steeling her resolve, she turned back toward Beryl, whose orange eyes were full of mirth.

When the battle commenced, she found her concentration could scarcely move past Beryl. Only the occasional light of a spell in her peripheral vision reminded her that there were other battles taking place in the room. Beryl fired a series of dark attacks in her directions, not a spell so much as a concentration of negative energy. She seemed to have no problem in calling one after the other while Usagi clumsily dodged and countered, pulling more and more strength from the crystal and relying less on her wand.

Still it was obvious Beryl had the upper hand. Usagi's continued use of the crystal was drawing heavily on her energy. With each passing moment she felt herself getting more sluggish, but still she fought it. Everyone was counting on her. A whole race of people were looking to her for hope. If she didn't win, all hope was lost.

A sudden shout of pain penetrated her concentration. _Draco_. Her blue eyes instantly shot to the other side of the room where her brother crumpled in a heap on the floor. Her heart stopped as Beryl's cackle was the next noise that invaded her head. "Bad move, Princess."

In the second she had looked to her brother, Beryl had easily closed in. Usagi whipped her head back around, raised her wand, but words failed her. The attack was already closing in. It was over. She had lost.

Then suddenly she was hit, but unexpectedly from the side. A weird sense of vertigo overtook her as the weight sent her flying to the right, out of the line of fire. Her small body made hard contact with the stone ground and she bit back on a cry of pain, emitting a muffled groan instead. For a moment she lay still, dazed, wondering what had just happened.

Slowly, she moved her arm, placing her palm flat against the floor. She pushed herself up into a sitting position, turning her head, her throat dry, her palms sweating. There, crumpled to the floor in the spot where she should have been, was the immobile form of Lucius Malfoy. In disbelief she moved toward him, closing the few feet in a crawl.

"F-Father?" He remained still, his blue eyes turned skyward, empty. As her fingers brushed his face, she could almost feel the life leaving him, brushing up against her. A strange feeling coursed through her veins. She became aware of Beryl's delighted laughter in the background. Was this sudden sensation flowing through her the last remnants of Lucius Malfoy's life, or was it anguish, or pure rage?

Usagi returned to her feet, fists clenched and trembling at her sides. She raised her tear-streaked face to Beryl and delved one hand in her pocket. An upturned crescent moon was shining proudly on her forehead, glinting in an unseen light, and as she stretched her arms forward the brooch in her open palm started to glow.

Beryl stopped mid-laugh when she sensed Usagi's sudden spike in power. Her eyes widened as the glow from the brooch wrapped the entire frame of the blonde girl in a pulsing light. Frantically she began another string of attacks, but the dark energy reached her and dissipated in tiny crackles of black lightning, never touching her.

Usagi watched this but did not react. The crystal finally rose from its place in the piece of jewelry, hovering between her hands as the empty brooch fell uselessly to the floor. As it powered up, Usagi fought against her drooping eyelids and the exhaustion that was quickly overtaking her. Tears were still falling from the corners of her eyes, burning their way down her cheeks. Her father was dead.

Almost as if triggered by her thought, the crystal finally released what looked to be a wall of light or energy. It headed straight for Beryl, leaving her no room to dodge or escape. The redheaded woman was engulfed by the light and emitted one final, ear-piercing shriek before her whole body was reduced to a glittering pile of dust. It was almost pretty, almost magical.

That was Usagi's final thought before she collapsed.

**xXx**

It hadn't seemed right, inviting Harry to the funeral. He had never even liked Lucius Malfoy. Though he wanted to be there, to stand beside her, to support her, Usagi had asked him to stay behind. So now she took her seat in the front pew and allowed her mother, Narcissa, to lean against her as she cried.

A sudden weight on her other side let her know that Draco had taken his seat. Without hesitation, she reached out and grabbed his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze of reassurance. She was so thankful that her brother was still alive.

Waking after the battle had been one of the most terrible experiences of her life. She'd been out for nearly a week. Luna explained that the crystal had reacted to her emotional distress and pulled power from her very life force. She was very lucky the crystal hadn't shattered, or overdrew on her energy and killed her. The dark haired woman ventured that it had something to do with her other magical abilities that compensated for the lost energy and kept her alive.

Draco had been there, silent, stoic. She still could not fathom what it was going on in his head. The best she could wager was that he blamed himself for what happened. He was a failure. She didn't know what she could possibly say to console him. In truth she blamed herself for her Father's death. So what could either of them say?

The LPA had suffered heavy casualties during the battle. Though none of the eight princesses had fallen, many loyal soldiers and friends had. The loss was deep, and the whole agency was currently in mourning, remembering their friends. Later they would celebrate their freedom from Beryl. Usagi wished they would rejoin wizarding society, but that was a discussion for another time.

"Dearly beloved." She turned her blue eyes on the casket, drowning out the speaker with her thoughts. Harry had recounted his battle with Voldemort, recalling that it had ended almost in time with hers. He had felt the sudden surge of light and hope with her final attack, he explained, and it renewed his resolve. They had succeeded, done their duties, and fulfilled the prophecies.

_If the serpent and the lion ever unite, you will fall_. Usagi had pondered these words since she awoke. She was certain now that Lucius Malfoy had in reality been the serpent and that she, the only Malfoy to ever be in Gryffindor, had been the lion. Lucius's final act had been to save her life, and his sacrifice had given her the strength to defeat Beryl and inadvertently assist Harry against Voldemort. Voldemort had never worried about the prophecy because he was sure he had Lucius under his thumb.

_You did love me, didn't you Father_? Something had been lost between them on the day that she had been placed in the Gryffindor house. It had placed a wedge between father and daughter that they had never been able to overcome. But she remembered the happier days, when she and Draco were still just children. There were many good memories to outweigh the bad. She was just thankful that she had let Lucius know that she really did love him. And he had let her know the same, in his own way.

**xXx**

"What will you do, Usagi?" The blonde glanced up from a spot on the windowsill. It had been several months. Luna stood before her in the guise of Professor Desdemona, intent on finishing out the Hogwarts school year before officially resigning. Usagi, Draco, and Harry had all returned to the school as well. It only made sense, to finish their final year of schooling. Narcissa had begged it of the twins so they had agreed, and Harry had little other choice. "The Lunarians need a leader."

"I'm not a Princess, Luna." Usagi stood, closing the distance between them and taking Luna's hands in her own. Softly, she continued, "I feel a great deal for them as a people, but we aren't a kingdom anymore. Maybe it's time to join the wizarding community, share what we know. Either way I don't feel comfortable leading them. Their future is in your hands Luna. If anyone knows and loves them, it's you. I know you will do what's best."

"I understand." Luna smiled, down at the short blonde girl, and then said, "But you still didn't answer my question. What will you do?"

"I don't know." Usagi glanced down, her cerulean eyes uncertain. "Right now I'm just thankful to be alive. I don't want to look to far ahead."

"I understand that. Stay safe, Usagi. Remember, you always have a home with us." Luna pulled her into a hug, and Usagi had to blink fiercely to hold back the tears.

"Don't talk like it's the end. You will keep in touch, right?"

"Of course, Usagi. Now, I believe there's somewhere else you need to be?" Luna pulled away and smiled mischievously down at the blonde, who blushed a light pink and ducked around her. She whirled down the spiral staircase into the common room, where Harry was waiting for her by the fireplace. As she approached him, her eyes glanced over the group of familiar students who followed the dark haired Gryffindor nearly everywhere he went.

"Don't you ever get tired of it?" Usagi turned back toward Harry to find him smiling at her. It caused a funny flutter in her heart she hadn't quite gotten used to, so she ducked her head to frown at the group again.

"Not really. I'm kind of used to the attention." He reached for her hand as she turned back to roll her eyes at him. "Come on, Ron and Hermione are already waiting on us. Oh and Draco too, with whoever he conned in to coming with him."

"Don't be mean," Usagi frowned at him but allowed him to lead her out of the common room. As soon as they swung the portrait closed, both teenagers set off at a run, quickly ducking down a few corridors. They paused, pressed in the shadows and listening as the troupe of feet rumbled by their hiding spot, and shared a grin. "Lost them. I can't imagine being in the spotlight all the time. I guess that's why I'm always in the shadows, huh?"

"Not always," Harry ducked his head and pressed his lips against hers in a sweet, chaste kiss before he pulled away and led her onward. "Let's go, we're late now."

They made their way to Hogsmeade in silence, Harry leading the way with his hand still gripped around hers. Ron and Hermione were waiting for them outside Honeydukes, the former looking quite grumpy. Hermione smiled apologetically as she explained that Draco and his date had already left for the restaurant, which meant Ron had instigated something yet again.

When they had returned to Hogwarts, the three of them retained the habit of sitting together, mostly because of Usagi's insistence. Hermione had been a little uneasy with the arrangement at first, but warmed to Draco being there over time. Ron, however, had barely managed to move past glares and grunts in the blonde male's direction. At least Draco had stopped antagonizing him on purpose just to watch his ears turn an unhealthy shade of red.

The four of them walked on down the main lane of Hogsmeade until they reached their destination. As soon as they were in the doors, Usagi craned her neck trying to spot her brother and his mystery date. The host smiled and led them back toward their table. As the group of them squeezed down the small aisle of the relatively tiny restaurant, the blonde girl finally caught sight of the two of them.

"Ami?!" The blue haired girl looked up suddenly, turning a dark shade of red as Usagi took her seat, her mouth still open in shock. Draco just smirked. Usagi tried to think back to their time at LPA, whether Draco had spent a lot of time with Ami, but most of the time was a blur of exhaustion and fear of what was to come.

"You can lose the expression now." Draco was still smirking when she snapped her mouth closed, but still looking at Ami in disbelief.

"I had no idea!" Usagi finally exclaimed, making the poor girl turn a new shade of red.

"Good." Draco offered, turning his attention to the waiter. "Now let's order."

"We should have made this a study date. The N.E.W.T.s are next week you know." Hermione cut in, looking anxious at the thought but mostly speaking to change the topic of conversation. Everyone else at the table, excluding Ami, grimaced.

"Don't remind us, 'Mione." Harry groaned.

"Yes, let's just have a nice, stress-free meal and some fun afterwards. We can try to forget we're even in school for the moment." Usagi nodded enthusiastically with this idea, while Hermione seemed a bit put out at the thought of no school at all. The blonde wondered what she would do once they really were free of Hogwarts. Her thoughts were cut short when the waiter finally asked for her order.

**xXx**

"So what will you do?" Usagi grinned over at Harry before snuggling closer to his side and letting him drape his arm around her. They were sitting on the stone steps that led up to Hogwarts, looking out across the grounds as the sun set. Somehow they'd yet to be rediscovered by Harry's avid followers, so they were both relishing the quiet.

"Luna asked me the same thing earlier." She paused, her expression becoming serious as she thought about the question. "Assuming I pass exams, I'm not sure. I think I need to find myself, who I am. Not the forgotten Malfoy or the princess of an ancient race, or some hybrid witch related to Voldemort. Just Usagi. I'm still not sure who she is."

"Do I fit in there somewhere?" Harry's voice was soft, maybe a little unsure. A small frown touched the blonde's face as she glanced up at him. A few moments passed, silence echoing in the space around them, before Usagi closed her eyes.

"Only if you want to." Harry shifted, moving his free hand over to cup her face. This time she made the move that closed the distance between them, pressing her lips hungrily against his. The response was immediate, passionate. Right.

**Fin**

You can say it. I'm awful at battle scenes. That's why I dreaded this chapter so. But it's done, and I'm sort of relieved, even if the end was kind of cheesy. I hope the readers of this story are satisfied with how it turned out. Please review.

SachiNyoko


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